Michael A. Pulsipher, MD

Dr. Pulsipher is currently the Division Chief of the Pediatric Hematology at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital and Oncology, Director of the Children's and Adolescent Cancer Initiative at Huntsman Cancer Institute and a Presidential Chair in Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at the University of Utah.  

Dr. Pulsipher is an internationally recognized expert in Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, having directed the world's largest pediatric transplant research group for more than a decade (Pediatric Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Consortium).  He has run more than 20 multicenter trials in the field and is considered and expert in broad areas of transplantation and cellular therapy.  Areas of focus have included development of reduced toxicity approaches to transplantation of both malignant and non-malignant disorders with a focus on minimizing short and long-term effects of transplant.  For non-malignant disorders he has run national protocols that have improved safety for patients with immunodeficiencies, HLH, and bone marrow failure. For cancer, he has developed techniques allowing identification of patients who can avoid radiation-based treatments for leukemia.  This has included a novel approach to safer transplantation of patients using half-matched family donors (haploidentical donors) using a novel form of bone marrow graft engineering called alpha-beta T-cell depletion.  His desire to develop safer approaches has become a major focus as he has led major studies in the field of chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR T-cells), a safer approach to cancer cure.  Dr. Pulsipher's work in cell therapy helped lead to the FDA approval of the first CART cell treatment, tisagenlecleucel, and he continues to run trials in CAR T, NK, and Viral Specific T-cell therapies. He has open protocols aimed at improving outcomes and his lab efforts are focused on making CAR T-cells that last longer and avoid overcome resistance by cancer cells. Dr. Pulsipher's interests have included ensuring that the families of those undergoing transplantation and cell therapy are psychologically well throughout the process.  To help with this, he has run several large trials assessing the safety and Quality of Life of pediatric bone marrow donors and is he currently running a large national trial looking at the psychological well-being of donor and recipient families as they go through the transplant process.

For questions regarding Dr. Pulsipher's adult practice at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, or for questions about any of our clinical programs and for assistance identifying the right Hematology specialist for you or your family member, please contact our Clinical Care Specialist/New Patient Coordinator at (801) 587-4652. For questions regarding Dr. Pulsipher's pediatric practice and the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Primary Children's Medical Center, please call (801) 662-4830.