As Chief of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Professor of Medicine at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, I have played a pivotal role in identifying novel treatment targets for hematologic malignancies, particularly in the context of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). My research spans two decades and has centered on reducing treatment toxicity while uncovering immune targets that can enhance tissue resilience and improve patient outcomes. A significant milestone in my career was the collaboration with Dr. Brian Betts leading to the discovery of CD83 as a dual-expressed target on both GVHD effector cells and leukemic blasts. This breakthrough highlights the potential to simultaneously address both toxicity and relapse. In addition to my contributions to novel target discovery, I have extensive expertise in managing phase I clinical trials under IND, with a focus on investigator-initiated studies. My ongoing, grant-funded translational research includes the identification of novel tissue repair growth factors and pathways associated with GVHD prognosis, as well as the identification of treatment toxicity biomarkers such as amphiregulin, epidermal growth factor, angiopoetin-2, follistatin, and endoglin, using samples from multicenter studies. I also serve as the principal investigator on several observational and interventional trials, and I co-chaired the BMT CTN 1703, a randomized phase III study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023, which has revolutionized standard GVHD prevention globally.