Benjamin K. Watkins
MD
Dr. Watkins’ research interests include acute and chronic GVHD, transplant immunology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and its complications.
Titles and Roles
- Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
- Emory University School of Medicine
- Director of Global Oncology Program
- Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
- Pediatric Oncologist
- Pediatric Oncology
- Research Program
- Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics
Biography
Benjamin K. Watkins, MD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Watkins' clinical interest is in bone marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancies, graft-versus-host disease and late effects of transplant. Since 2015, he has become involved in international pediatric oncology.
Dr. Watkins is a member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.
Education
Dr. Watkins completed his medical degree and pediatric residency from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas. He completed a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine and a blood and marrow transplant fellowship at Seattle Children's Hospital and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.
Research
Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Dr. Watkins' lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms driving GVHD and developing new approaches to prevent the disease.
One of the major barriers to the prevention and treatment of GVHD is a poor understanding of the mechanisms driving the disease. His group uses longitudinal immune profiling through flow cytometry and RNAseq to identify the pathways involved in the development of GVHD. The overall goal is to identify biomarkers of GVHD that are present before the appearance of the clinical symptoms so that prevention and treatment can be modified accordingly.
Dr. Watkins is the local principal investigator of multiple clinical trials for the treatment and prevention of acute and chronic GVHD.
Publications
Dr. Watkins has numerous first author publications and presentations at national meetings describing his work.
Publications Publication Date