HOXWORTH BLOOD CENTER | NEWS RELEASE
Media Contact:
Jackie Marschall | Public Information Officer
513.558.1213 (office) | 859.816.5156 (cell) | jackie.marschall@uc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hoxworth Blood Center Announces New Interim Leadership and Departure of Dr. José A. Cancelas
CINCINNATI (May 29, 2024) – Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati, is beyond excited to announce that Caroline Alquist, MD, PhD, Chief Transplant and Cellular Therapies Officer, and David Oh, MD, MHA, Chief Medical Officer, are the new Interim Co-Directors, effective Monday, June 3. Drs. Alquist and Oh, who both hold appointments as Associate Professor of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, have extensive experience in the field of blood bank administration and together they will lead Hoxworth as they collaborate on all blood center management and strategic efforts.
Dr. Alquist will ensure seamless continuity of Hoxworth’s clinical patient care. She is a leader in apheresis, transplant immunology and biotherapies with significant skill in clinical pathology, transfusion medicine, histocompatibility, laboratory medicine leadership and blood management. Since joining Hoxworth in 2020, her clinical focus has been in supporting all regional solid organ and bone marrow transplants, which she will continue while serving as Co-Director. She has served as Interim Division Director, Cellular Therapies since last year, but will relinquish those responsibilities as soon as an ongoing search is completed to permanently fill that position.
Dr. Oh possesses a wealth of experience in operational process optimization and innovative initiatives and has provided leadership to blood centers with the American Red Cross, San Diego Blood Bank, and Stanford University Blood Center. Dr. Oh joined University of Cincinnati in 2017 and will continue to focus his attention on blood supply, including blood donor recruitment, collection, processing, labeling, testing, storage, and distribution. He also will continue as the UC Medical Center Transfusion Medicine/Blood Bank Medical Director and as the Director of the Hoxworth Transfusion Medicine/Blood Banking Fellowship Program while leading all medical student, resident, and fellow transfusion medicine education.
Hoxworth is confident that Drs. Alquist and Oh will form a strong, coordinated team to continue their mission to enhance patient wellbeing, support more than 30 hospitals in the Greater Cincinnati region and maintain the center’s 85-year-record of the highest standards of quality, safety and innovation.
Drs. Alquist and Oh will lead Hoxworth following the June 2 departure of José Cancelas, MD, PhD, who has served as Director and Chief Executive Officer since Feb. 1, 2018.
Reflecting on his tenure, Dr. Cancelas expressed gratitude for the support of the community, staff, and donors, saying, “My time at Hoxworth has been a privilege, and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together.”
Dr. Cancelas is joining Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he will be the Executive Director of the Connell-O’Reilly Cell Manipulation Core Facility and hold an endowed professorship at Harvard Medical School. Under his leadership, Hoxworth became the only academic unit formed by a blood center in United States, significantly expanded clinical activities and conducted groundbreaking bench and clinical research.
Congratulations to Drs. Alquist and Oh on their expanded leadership responsibilities and a sincere thank you to Dr. Cancelas for his 23 years of extraordinary service to Hoxworth, the College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s.
For media inquiries or further information, please contact Jackie Marschall at jackie.marschall@uc.edu.
About Hoxworth:
Hoxworth Blood Center, University of Cincinnati, was founded in 1938, and is the oldest blood center in the nation. Hoxworth serves more than 30 hospitals in 18 counties in Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeastern Indiana. Annually, Hoxworth collects more than 100,000 units of blood from local donors to help save the lives of patients in area hospitals. Hoxworth Blood Center: Saving Lives Close to Home. For more information, visit Hoxworth.org
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