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Dr. Cairo is currently the Associate Chairman and Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Pediatrics at New York Medical College (NYMC). His additional current leadership positions include being the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Director of the Childhood and Adolescent Cancer and Blood Disease Center, Medical and Scientific Director of the Cellular and Tissue Engineering Laboratory at Westchester Medical Center (WMC), Medical Director of the WMC Hematotherapy Program and Co-Chair of the WMC Cancer Committee. Dr. Cairo’s additional academic appointments include being a Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and Cell Biology and Anatomy and Public Health at NYMC.

Briefly, Dr. Cairo’s past education includes his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, graduating in 1972 with a BA and election to Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Cairo received my medical school training at the University of California, San Francisco (USCF) graduating in 1976 and election to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA). Dr. Cairo trained as a Pediatric Resident at UCLA Harbor General from 1976-1978 under the mentorship of Joseph St. Geme, MD and then a Chief Residency in Pediatrics from 1978-1979 at UCSF under the mentorship of Melvin Grumbach, MD. Dr. Cairo completed a Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship as an American Cancer Society Fellow at Indiana University from 1979-1981 under the mentorship of Robert Baehner, MD.

Dr. Cairo joined the faculty of Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) in 1982 and established the BMT/Stem Cell Transplant program there in 1985 as Director of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Also, at CHOC Dr. Cairo was the Principal Investigator (PI) for Children’s Cancer Group and PI of the Cord Blood Collection Center and Cord Blood Transplant Center under an NHLBI award. In 1997, Dr. Cairo was recruited to Georgetown University where he became a Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Pathology and Chief of the Division of Stem Cell Transplantation, Cellular and Gene Therapy and Director of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation program at the Lombardi Cancer Center and Medical Director of the NHLBI Cord Blood Collection Center. In 2000, Dr. Cairo was recruited to Columbia University and was a Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Pathology and Director of the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, member of the executive committee of the Department of Pediatrics, Medical Director of the National Marrow Donor Unrelated Transplant program, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation and member of the executive steering committee of the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. In 2011 Dr. Cairo was recruited to NYMC and WMC.

Dr. Cairo has over 400 peer reviewed publications, over 1000 national and international abstract presentations, over 45 book chapters and edited 2 textbooks. Dr. Cairo is an international leader in the biology and treatment of childhood and adolescent lymphomas and leukemias, stem cell transplantation, developmental therapeutics, experimental hematopoiesis and immunology and stem cell biology and regenerative therapy. Dr. Cairo was a pioneer in the use of cord blood stem cells for treating pediatric malignant and non-malignant disease, the use of cord blood stem cells for potential regenerative therapy and stem cell transplantation for sickle cell disease. Dr. Cairo is a member of a number of national and international societies related to both pediatrics and my specialty, Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplantation, including, elected to the Society of Pediatric Research (SPR) and the American Pediatrics Society (APS) and member of AAP, ESPR and hematology and oncology and stem cell transplantation societies such as ASH, ASCO, ASBMT, AAI, ISEH, AACR, ASPHO, SIOP, PBMTC and COG.

Dr. Cairo has been an international leader in basic, translational and clinical research in childhood, adolescent and young adults with Lymphoma, tumor immunology, stem cell transplantation and developmental therapeutics.