Daniel Starczynowski Appointed to Key Cancer Research Leadership Roles
Research By: Daniel Starczynowski, PhD
Post Date: July 29, 2026 | Publish Date:
One of the nation’s leading leukemia researchers to help guide the next chapter of cancer and blood disease research at Cincinnati Children’s while strengthening scientific collaboration across the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center
Cincinnati Children’s has appointed Daniel Starczynowski, PhD, as director of the Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, scientific and innovation director of the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute (CBDI), and research deputy director of the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center.
The appointment positions one of the nation’s leading leukemia researchers to help guide the next chapter of cancer and blood disease research at Cincinnati Children’s while strengthening scientific collaboration across the UC Cancer Center. In these leadership roles, Starczynowski will help accelerate discoveries from the laboratory into new therapies for children and adults with cancer and blood disorders.
“Dr. Starczynowski is an internationally respected scientist whose career has been defined by scientific excellence, collaboration and an unwavering commitment to translating discovery into better treatments for patients,” says Tina Cheng, MD, MPH, chief medical officer, chair of Pediatrics and director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation. “His leadership will help strengthen our ability to bring together world-class basic, translational and clinical research, creating new opportunities to advance precision therapies and improve outcomes for children and families.”
An internationally recognized investigator, Starczynowski has spent nearly two decades uncovering the molecular mechanisms that drive myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), discoveries that are helping reshape how these aggressive blood cancers are understood and treated. Research led by his laboratory has identified new therapeutic targets, advanced understanding of how inflammatory signaling drives clonal hematopoiesis and myeloid malignancies, and helped move promising therapies toward clinical testing. Starczynowski is also a scientific co-founder of Kurome Therapeutics, a Cincinnati Children’s spinout that developed an investigational therapy for leukemia, and secured FDA clearance to begin clinical testing before the company was acquired in 2025.
Since joining Cincinnati Children’s in 2010, Starczynowski has become a driving force in the health system’s cancer research enterprise. Today, he serves as the Katherine Stewart Waters Endowed Chair in Hematologic Malignancies and directs the Advanced Leukemia Therapies and Research Center, an innovative program established to unite scientists and clinicians around a single goal: accelerating the development of lifesaving therapies for leukemia and related blood cancers. The center integrates laboratory research, translational science and clinical expertise to shorten the path from scientific discovery to patient care.
As director of the Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Starczynowski will lead the basic science arm of the CBDI, overseeing multidisciplinary research spanning cancer biology, hematology, stem cell biology, cell and gene therapy and drug discovery. He will also help strengthen scientific partnerships across Cincinnati Children’s, the UC Cancer Center and UC Health, supporting a more connected research enterprise capable of accelerating innovation and expanding access to groundbreaking clinical trials.
Starczynowski earned his bachelor’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his doctorate in molecular biology from Boston University, where he studied NF-κB signaling in B-cell lymphomas. He completed postdoctoral training at the BC Cancer Research Centre at the University of British Columbia before joining Cincinnati Children’s in 2010.
Starczynowski succeeds Yi Zheng, PhD, who has played a foundational role in building Cincinnati Children’s internationally recognized cancer research program. Since the CBDI was established in 2009, Zheng has served as director of the Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology while also serving as institute co-executive director and holding the Marjory Johnson Endowed Chair of Drug Discovery. Under his leadership, the division expanded its scientific impact and helped establish Cincinnati Children’s as a global leader in blood disease and cancer research. Zheng will continue as a faculty member, leading an active research program dedicated to advancing discovery and innovation.
Research By
The Starczynowski Laboratory is interested in the molecular, cellular, and genetic basis of hematologic malignancies, with a specific focus on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Latest Posts
About this blog
The Research Horizons blog features news and insights about the latest discoveries and innovations developed by the scientists of Cincinnati Children's. This blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Email researchnews@cchmc.org with questions or ideas.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter