Stella T. Chou MD

Stella T. Chou, MD, is board-certified in Blood Banking-Transfusion Medicine and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and is an attending physician in the Divisions of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She specializes in caring for children with sickle cell disease, those who make antibodies against red cell transfusions (alloimmunization), and those requiring apheresis. Her research interests are focused on improving red blood cell matching for patients through the use of innovative tools. Dr. Chou earned her medical degree from New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. She completed her internship and residency in pediatrics at CHOP, as well as a fellowship in pediatric hematology-oncology. She also completed a fellowship in transfusion medicine at the Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Chou serves as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Chou’s laboratory research efforts are centered on investigating the mechanisms of normal hematopoietic development and how these become disrupted in hematologic diseases. Her research interests also include alloimmunization in patients with sickle cell disease. Her current research in this area focuses on improving red blood cell matching using innovative tools. Her work has demonstrated that inheritance of variant blood group antigens in patients with sickle cell disease contributes to their high rate of red cell antibody formation. Her research laboratory uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and primary human cells to model blood diseases and study their underlying pathophysiology. Ongoing work focuses on the genetic matching of red cells and creating customized iPSCs with rare blood group antigen combinations as renewable sources of red cell reagents to improve antibody identification and donor red cell matching. Since transfusion therapy remains a critical treatment for hemoglobinopathies, her goal is to identify new approaches to minimize alloimmunization, reduce complications and improve therapy. For her innovative research, she is a recipient of the National Blood Foundation Hall of Fame award.