Ware Research Lab
The Ware Lab team focuses on translational hematology research to improve our overall understanding of sickle cell disease with the long-term goal of improving the lives of affected children. Specific areas of laboratory focus include the identification and validation of genetic modifiers, optimizing the use of hydroxyurea, investigating the safety of long-term hydroxyurea treatment, and elucidating the phenotypic variability of drug responses through investigation of the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics of hydroxyurea.
The lab performs a wide variety of laboratory techniques including genetic / genomic studies, gene expression profiling and functional analyses. DNA, serum / plasma and urine samples are analyzed from multiple clinical trials, including Therapeutic Response Evaluation and Adherence Trial (TREAT) and Hydroxyurea Exposure in Lactation: A Pharmacokinetics Study (HELPS). The lab has also investigated hydroxyurea pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution using mouse models in multiple administration settings, including oral, intraperitoneal, and in the context of lactation and breastfeeding.
Russell E. Ware, MD, PhD, has a strong interest in global health and especially for children with sickle cell disease who live in developing countries within the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to his successful design of a pilot newborn screening program for the Republic of Angola, he is directing an ongoing collaborative surveillance program for sickle cell disease in the Republic of Uganda, and he is initiating similar surveillance studies in both northwestern Tanzania and in Malawi. He has active trials in Jamaica (EXTEND) and in the Dominican Republic (SACRED) evaluating the effectiveness of therapies used for children who have sickle cell disease coupled with factors indicating a higher stroke risk. Additionally, Ware has established two studies designed to safely introduce hydroxyurea into sub-Saharan Africa: Realizing Effectiveness Across Continents with Hydroxyurea (REACH) and Novel use Of Hydroxyurea in an African Region with Malaria (NOHARM).
