In 2009, we opened the region's only adult sickle cell disease clinical center in order to deliver comprehensive, state-of-the-art care. We provide consultative and comprehensive care for all hereditary hemoglobin disorders, namely sickle cell disease and thalassemia. We have a dedicated team that includes a hematologist, two nurse practitioners, a clinical nurse coordinator, infusion room nurse, social worker, and patient navigator. Our program offerings include preventative care, acute and chronic pain management, transfusions (including apheresis and exchange transfusions), the management of transfusion-related complications (e.g., iron overload and red blood cell alloantibodies), fast and efficient management of pain crises, and referrals to specialists for related conditions such as pulmonary hypertension, kidney disease, liver disease, cardiomyopathy, retinopathy, avascular necrosis, leg ulcers, priapism, pregnancy, and stroke. We serve over 200 adults lving with sickle cell disease.

At the New England Sickle Cell Institute, we conduct basic, translational and clinical research in sickle cell disease. Our overarching goal is to develop new insights into the fundamental causes of multi-organ morbidity and early mortality from this most common hereditary red blood cell disorder. We are specifically interested in how this hemoglobin-based disease leads to increased susceptibility to life-threatening infection and asthma. Our lab uses a mouse model of human sickle cell disease to answer these important questions. Additionally, we enroll interested humans with sickle cell disease into translational reserach studies. We collaborate locally, nationally and internationally. Our collaborating institutions include University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT), Connecticut Children's Medical Center (Hartford, CT), Hospital for Special Care (New Britain, CT), Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, CT), University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI), Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN), University of Florida (Gainesville, FL), Case Medical Center (Cleveland, OH), Albert Einstein/Montefiore (Bronx, NY), Guys St. Thomas Hospital (London, England), University of Padova (Padova, Italy). We also have community partnerships for both clinical care and research with our two area sickle cell disease community-based organizations: Citizens for Quality Sickle Cell Care, Inc. and Sickle Cell Disease Association of America-Southern Connecticut Chapter.

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