DiPersio Honored with National AACR Research Award

American Association for Cancer Research highlights physician-scientist’s pioneering advances in leukemia biology, stem cell transplantation and cellular immunotherapy

John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, a pioneering WashU Medicine physician-scientist at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, will be recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to science at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026 in San Diego.

The AACR will present DiPersio with its Award for Outstanding Achievement in Blood Cancer Research, honoring his decades of innovation that have transformed the understanding and treatment of hematologic malignancies.

Nationally renowned for his work in the lab and clinic, DiPersio specializes in bone marrow transplantation and treats patients diagnosed with leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) at Siteman Cancer Center. As a researcher, he is recognized for pioneering advances in leukemia science and stem cell biology.

“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by AACR,” said DiPersio, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Endowed Professorship of Medicine, Pathology & Immunology and director of the Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy at WashU Medicine and Siteman. “This award reflects the collaborative work of many colleagues dedicated to improving the lives of patients with blood cancers.”

The award highlights DiPersio’s essential contributions to the development of the hematopoietic stem cell-mobilizing agents plerixafor, known commercially as Mozobil, and motixafortide, also known as Aphexda. His research identifying JAK 1/2 signaling in graft-versus-host disease led to the identification and approval of JAK inhibitors, including ruxolitinib, known commercially as Jakafi.

In addition, DiPersio’s discoveries defining clonal evolution in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have transformed the understanding of cancer relapse and have advanced novel CAR T and CAR-iNKT (invariant natural killer T) therapies for AML and multiple myeloma, expanding treatment options for patients with difficult-to-treat cancers.

In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for an innovative immunotherapy he led the development of for rare and aggressive types of blood cancer. The therapy — called WU-CART-007, also known as soficabtagene geleucel, or sofi-cel — targets T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LL) in patients who haven’t responded to earlier treatments or who have relapsed.

In the clinic, DiPersio is also known for his bedside manner and care and concern for those he treats.

“Dr. DiPersio is an amazing doctor,” one patient said on the clinician’s WashU Physicians profile page. “I cannot say enough good things about him. I consider myself blessed to have him as my doctor.”

In 2014, DiPersio received the AACR-Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Cancer Research.

This year’s AACR award presentation will coincide with DiPersio’s lecture at the annual meeting, which runs from April 17–22. His talk, titled “Killing the bad without the good: CART for T-cell malignancies,” is at 4:15 p.m. PT in Room 30 in the upper level of the San Diego Convention Center.