Robert Makar

Robert S. Makar, MD, PhD is Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the FDA-licensed Blood Transfusion Service at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He concurrently serves as Associate in Pathology at MGH, where he oversees a multi-disciplinary team responsible for transfusion support, therapeutic apheresis, and histocompatibility testing across the hospital’s transplant, trauma, cardiac surgery, and oncology programs.

Education & Certification

• MD – UT Southwestern Medical School
• Residency – Massachusetts General Hospital, Pathology
• Fellowship – Massachusetts General Hospital, Blood Banking / Transfusion Medicine
• Board Certified – Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine, American Board of Pathology
• Board Certified – Clinical Pathology, American Board of Pathology

Research Interests

Dr. Makar’s laboratory and translational research focuses on three interconnected themes: (1) immunologic mechanisms driving HLA and red-cell alloimmunization following transfusion; (2) evidence-based screening strategies to mitigate transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI); and (3) clinical translation of cellular immunotherapies—particularly CAR-T cells—for autoimmune and malignant diseases. His group integrates high-resolution HLA typing, cellular immunology assays, and large-scale transfusion databases to refine risk prediction models and to design safer blood products.

Publication Themes

Over the past decade Dr. Makar has published extensively on thrombotic microangiopathies (TMA), validating the widely adopted PLASMIC score for rapid TTP risk assessment and exploring recombinant ADAMTS13 as targeted therapy for immune-mediated TTP. Recent manuscripts also address germline determinants of transplant-associated TMA, non-alloimmune causes of platelet refractoriness, and optimization of apheresis protocols for CAR-T manufacturing at MGH.

Scientific Awards & Honors

No specific awards or named lectureships were identified in the provided text; however, his authorship in New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Haematology, and other high-impact journals attests to peer recognition in transfusion medicine and hematology.

Leadership & Clinical Service

• Director, Blood Transfusion Service, MGH (FDA-licensed, AABB-accredited reference laboratory)
• Medical Director oversight for ~70,000 blood-component transfusions and >13,000 whole-blood donations annually
• Clinical consultation services for apheresis, transfusion management, and pre-transplant compatibility assessment
• Supervision of resident physicians and fellows rotating through transfusion medicine

Laboratory & Team

Dr. Makar leads the integrated Blood Transfusion Service, encompassing the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center, Outpatient Infusion Unit, Apheresis Unit, and ASHI-certified Histocompatibility Laboratory. The clinical team includes attending physicians, resident pathologists, specialized nurses, and research coordinators who collectively support adult and neonatal transfusion needs as well as cutting-edge cellular-therapy trials.