Developing Translational Insights into Poor Graft Function Following Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation 

2025–2028 | Dr Daniel North 

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is an important treatment for many blood disorders, including Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes. It involves giving a patient healthy blood-forming stem cells from a donor, with the aim of helping the body make healthy blood cells again. 

Poor graft function is a serious complication that can happen after transplantation. In this condition, the donor cells are present, but the bone marrow does not make enough healthy blood cells. This can lead to ongoing low blood counts, increased infection risk and the need for long-term blood transfusions. 

Through this PhD Scholarship, Dr Daniel North will investigate why poor graft function happens, with a focus on inflammation in the bone marrow environment. The project will use clinical trial activity, patient samples, existing clinical data and laboratory models to better understand this complication. 

The findings could help identify patients at higher risk, reveal new treatment targets and improve prevention and care. This research aims to make stem cell transplantation safer and improve outcomes for patients who develop poor graft function. 

This research is proudly co-funded by Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision and the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand.