Don J. Diamond

Don J. Diamond, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope. His research focuses on developing vaccines to combat hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and infectious pathogens such as herpesvirus and cytomegalovirus (CMV) HIV.

Dr. Diamond has held multiple leadership positions at City of Hope, including Professor in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (2018-present), Chair and Professor of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics (2014-2018), and Professor in the Department of Virology (1999-2014). His research career spans over three decades with significant contributions to vaccine development and immunotherapy.

Dr. Diamond's research interests center on translational vaccine research, particularly for cancer and viral infections. His laboratory has developed several vaccine platforms including CMV peptide vaccines, MVA-based vaccines, and Salmonella-based therapeutic approaches. Current research focuses on developing vaccines targeting hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and infectious pathogens like CMV. His work has led to multiple phase I and II clinical trials, including a therapeutic CMV peptide vaccine undergoing phase II human efficacy testing and a second-generation CMV vaccine based on modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) undergoing phase I human safety testing. A vaccine based on the MVA platform expressing unmutated p53 has completed phase I human testing in gastrointestinal cancer patients.

• Leukemia Society of America Fellow (1985-1987)

Dr. Diamond has mentored numerous students and postdoctoral fellows, including Graduate Students Benjamin Johnson and Charmaine Soco. His laboratory team consists of multiple staff scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and research associates working collaboratively on various aspects of vaccine development and immunotherapy research. The Division of Translational Vaccine Research, under Dr. Diamond's leadership, has produced several agents that have advanced beyond pre-clinical testing into Phase I and II trials. Current projects include refining a therapeutic platform based on attenuated Salmonella bacterium to treat pancreatic, skin, and brain cancers, and developing a prophylactic CMV vaccine in collaboration with researchers at University of California at Davis to control gestational infection that causes birth defects in children.