Developmental biologist and stem cell investigator David Traver, PhD, has been named director of a new developmental biology and regenerative pediatrics center at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s.

The new center brings together investigators studying the cellular processes involved in development and renewal, including how the body grows, repairs and rebuilds. 

“Dr. Traver’s appointment marks an important expansion of our developmental and stem cell biology research program,” said Ophir Klein, MD, PhD, executive director of Guerin Children’s and the David and Meredith Kaplan Distinguished Chair in Children’s Health. “By bringing our talented investigators together, this appointment furthers the potential for new discoveries in regenerative medicine.”

Traver will advance collaboration with research groups across Cedars-Sinai, including the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, and with outside partners. He will also serve as professor in the Department of Pediatrics. 

“Through our growing collaborations, Dr. Traver and our other scientists are making discoveries that can lead to new drugs or other therapies for childhood diseases,” said David Rowitch, MD, PhD, associate director of Research at Guerin Children’s and professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery.

Traver joins Cedars-Sinai from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), where his research team has spent years learning how hematopoietic stem cells—which can become any blood cell in the body—form, differentiate and provide immunity.

Under Traver’s leadership, investigators have developed high-resolution imaging techniques, allowing them to demonstrate that cells comprising the lining of the aorta convert into hematopoietic stem cells. A major goal is to generate patient-specific hematopoietic stem cells to aid recovery for people with cancer and related disorders.

 “I’m very excited to build on the research and clinical care programs at Cedars-Sinai and to work toward translating laboratory discoveries into results that can improve the lives of patients,” Traver said.

Traver earned a bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology from the University of Washington and a PhD in immunology from Stanford University. In 2000, while at Stanford, he was awarded the McDevitt Prize for best thesis in immunology. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental biology at Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Traver is the recipient of a Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health and a New Faculty Award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. He also has received scholar awards from the March of Dimes Foundation, the American Society of Hematology, the Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He was awarded the 2019 Till & McCulloch Award from the International Society of Experimental Hematology for outstanding scientific contributions in the field of hematology and stem cells.

“Dr. Traver has led his laboratory to many research accomplishments,” said Shervin Rabizadeh, MD, MBA, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Guerin Children’s. “We look forward to witnessing the innovations that will result from collaborations he will facilitate across our stem cell and regenerative medicine laboratories.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: The Untapped Potential of Stem Cells