Donald Branch PhD

Dr. Donald R. Branch received his Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Cell & Molecular Biology from San Francisco State University. He is certified in clinical medical technology as well as clinical toxicology. He obtained his Specialist in Blood Banking from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists after completing an internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco. He obtained his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Alberta under the mentorship of Dr. Larry J. Guilbert and did postdoctoral training in signal transduction under Dr. Gordon B. Mills in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Branch is currently an Associate Professor appointed in both Medicine (Division of Hematology) and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto.

He is also an Affiliated Scientist in the Division of Advanced Diagnostics, Infection and Immunity Group, Toronto General Research Institute (TGRI), and a Staff Scientist in Hematology/Oncology at the University Health Network (UHN). Dr. Branch’s research involves three main areas of interest: (1) The investigation of the pathogenesis of HIV infection with the aim to identify new host cell targets for drug discovery for the design of alternative therapies for HIV/AIDS. His team, which included Dr. Clifford Lingwood from the Hospital for Sick Children, recently discovered the first cell-surface-expressed natural resistance factor for HIV.

Dr. Branch has published more than 125 original research papers and has received awards of distinction from the American Society of Hematology, the American Association of Blood Banks, and the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine. Dr. Branch currently works as a Scientist in the Centre for Innovation for the Canadian Blood Services in Toronto.