Principal Investigator

Dr. Shimamura is a physician scientist in pediatric hematology-oncology in the Dana Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.  She is a Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, holds the Samuel E. Lux IV Chair in Hematology Oncology, and serves as Director of the Bone Marrow Failure and MDS Program.

Dr. Shimamura received her A.B. in Biochemistry at Princeton University and her MD/PhD from the University of Rochester.  She completed her pediatrics internship and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and her fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Following her fellowship and postdoctoral training, she joined the faculty and started her lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. In 2007 she moved her lab to the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.  She returned to the Dana Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in 2015 where she continues to run her lab, oversee clinical research, and direct the Bone Marrow Failure and MDS program.

Dr. Shimamura developed the national Shwachman Diamond Syndrome Registry, which she currently directs with Dr. Kasiani Myers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Together with Dr. David Williams, she co-founded the North American Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Consortium (NAPAAC) which currently includes over 50 pediatric hematology centers. Akiko is committed to contributing her time to organizations for hematology research. She is a member of the advisory boards of several disease foundations including Shwachman Diamond Syndrome Foundation, the Severe Chronic Neutropenia International Registry, RUNX1 Foundation, MDS Foundation, and the DADA2 Foundation. She serves on the ASH Precision Medicine Taskforce and served as Scientific Co-Chair for the ASH annual meeting.  She served on the Board of Trustees for the American Society of Hematology.

In her free time, Dr. Shimamura enjoys music, reading, cooking new cuisines, hiking, traveling, and exploring the marine life on Cape Cod with her husband Michael.  She is the proud mother of Alexander and Diana, who are embarking on exciting independent careers of their own.