Don Diamond | Director, Division of Vaccine Research & Professor, Dept of Hem & HCT
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Diamond received his A.B. with high honors (1977) and Ph.D. in 1985 from Harvard University. A 2-year fellowship with Dr. Susumu Tonegawa (Nobel Laureate, 1987) left an indelible mark about focus and how to achieve success in science. Following an LLS fellowship carried out at the DFCI, he moved to City of Hope where he started his career as a PI in 1989. His studies of cytomegalovirus infection, a transplant-related complication, resulted in a fruitful career that included 43 issued patents, 175 academic publications, multiple clinical programs including 6 INDs, domestic and international speaking engagements, and over $250 million in NIH and foundation funding. Dr. Diamond is considered a leading expert in vaccines for infectious disease. He often served as Chairman of the Vaccines for Microbial Diseases study section of the NIH, and chaired NCI and DOD special emphasis panels on pancreatic cancer. His discovery of immunologic recognition elements of CMV led to multiple corporate licenses and development of two vaccines, one of which has been evaluated in 12 Phase 1 and 2 single and multi-center trials sponsored by the NCI, NIAID and a company he co-founded named Helocyte Inc, a FBIO (NASDAQ) subsidiary. Dr. Diamond is currently a Professor in the Department of Hematology. He directs a laboratory comprised of 25 research professors, staff scientists, fellows, technicians, and graduate students. The Diamond laboratory continues to clinically evaluate vaccines to combat hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and infectious pathogens. In 2021 a Covid-19 vaccine developed in his laboratory was licensed to Geovax Labs (GOVX:NASDAQ), Recently, his team has been engaged in a substantial effort in collaboration with TCTRL to improve outcomes for patients receiving CAR T cell treatments for which first in-human clinical trials are now underway at City of Hope. His latest venture is  supported by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (D.O.W.) and Los Alamos to develop vaccines against pathogens such as Ebola virus and other threat agents for our soldiers.