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Jordan Shavit, M.D., Ph.D. is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist at the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital. He specializes in the care of pediatric patients with hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and other bleeding disorders, as well as those with excessive clotting, such as deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. His interest is in “clinically directed basic science” in the field of such hemostatic and thrombotic disorders, and heads an NIH-funded laboratory dedicated to furthering our understanding of the underlying genetics. While numerous inherited predisposing genetic factors have been defined, unidentified modifier genes contribute to the variable disease severity and penetrance observed among patients and families with these disorders. Characterization of such modifier genes will improve diagnosis and classification of these disorders, identify potential targets for therapy, and further our understanding of the underlying cellular and molecular biology. In order to achieve these goals, Dr. Shavit’s laboratory has developed zebrafish models of human bleeding and thrombotic disorders through genome editing with zinc finger nuclease, TALEN, and CRISPR/Cas genome editing technologies. Sensitized N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea mutagenesis and small molecule screens are being performed on zebrafish mutants with thrombotic and bleeding phenotypes. This strategy will identify genetic and chemical modifiers of hemostasis and thrombosis, and once characterized at the cellular and molecular level, will be examined in mammalian models and patient populations. Dr. Shavit is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, chair of the American Society of Hematology Scientific Committee on Megakaryocytes and Platelets, co-chair of the International Zebrafish Disease Models Society Hematology Research Interest Group, serves on the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society Board of Directors, and served on the editorial board of Pediatric Blood & Cancer for 9 years.

Dr. Shavit graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and subsequently received a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology as well as an M.D. from Northwestern University. He then pursued a residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, both at the University of Michigan.