Damiano Rondelli completed his medical training in Hematology at the University of Bologna, Italy. He was then a Research Assistant in the Department of Human Immunogenetics at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, WA, where he started his laboratory research in stem cell transplant models. In 1995 he became an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Hematology at the University of Bologna, Italy. In 2002 he joined the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) as the Director of the Blood & Marrow Transplant (BMT) Program. He is currently the Michael Reese Professor of Hematology and Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Director of BMT in the Department of Medicine, and the Director for Global Partnerships in the UIC College of Medicine Center for Global Health. His research interests focus on clinical trials in stem cell transplantation for blood cancer and sickle cell anemia patients, and on preclinical models to prevent stem cell rejection in incompatible transplants. He leads also a global health BMT [GlobalBMT] program aimed at building capacity and collaborating with non-for-profit institutions in low-middle income countries developing BMT for patients with cancer or blood disorders. His GlobalBMT initiative currently includes partners in Nepal, India, Nigeria, Uganda, Bolivia, Cuba, Ukraine and Greece.