New Faculty

Dr. Darja Karpova joins the Department of Medicine

Darja Karpova, PhD
Darja Karpova, PhD

Dr. Karpova has obtained her bachelor and master degree in molecular biology and biomedicine and has specialized in the field of experimental hematology since her PhD studies on the role of CXCR4 signalling in blood development. Dr. Karpova considers teaching an incredibly important and gratifying part of her job that gives her the opportunity to introduce and guide trainees towards scientific thought. Already during her PhD training she mentored and supported undergraduate and medical students as well as a visiting postdoctoral fellow and a physician-scientist. She continued training medical and graduate students during her postdoctoral appointments.

Dr. Karpova’s major research focus has been on immature normal and malignant haematopoiesis, specifically questions pertaining to stem cell maintenance and trafficking. She has co-developed and characterized several new regimens for mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells in preclinical models as well as participated in the associated clinical trials. Dr. Karpova’s research plans include implementing conceptually novel models to study the contribution of hematopoietic stem cells to unperturbed as well as stress associated hematopoiesis in health and disease. Using a recently described marker of hematopoietic stem cells, HoxB5, she has developed a stem cell depletion mouse model, that she will use to investigate the dynamics of stem cell deficient hematopoiesis and to study the cell of origin in acute myeloid leukemia. Furthermore, her research will focus on the occupancy of specific compartments (niches) within the bone marrow by multiple myeloma cells.