Steven L. Spitalnik

Dr. Steven L. Spitalnik is a Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology and Executive Vice Chair for Laboratory Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. As Co-Director of the NIH-funded Transfusion Biology Laboratory, he leads clinical and research initiatives to improve transfusion practices. He serves as Medical Director of Clinical Laboratories at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

• Board-certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology
• Editorial board member: Transfusion, Transfusion Medicine Reviews, Current Opinion in Hematology

Research Focus: Investigates red blood cell biology, particularly:

• Oxidative stress during storage
• Iron metabolism in malaria/bacterial co-infections
• Transfusion-related immunomodulation
• Hemolytic reactions and storage lesions
• The "iron hypothesis" of transfusion complications

Recent studies highlight:

• Glycolysis and carnitine metabolism in RBC aging
• Ferroptosis as a mechanism for stored RBC hemolysis
• Roles of ergothioneine and arginine pathways

Scientific Recognition:

• Gerald T. Evans Award (2005)
• Hall of Fame, National Blood Foundation (2016)
• Emily Cooley Lectureship (2013)
• Multiple teaching awards (Penn, Rochester)

Leadership: Served as President of the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists and chaired committees for the American Association of Blood Banks and American Society of Hematology.