Aisha Walker, PhD

Dr. Walker is a Research Assistant Professor in the Vascular Medicine Institute at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Walker is currently a Sickle Cell Scholar at Pitt. Her basic and translational research projects continue to investigate mechanisms related to pharmacologic therapies for sickle cell disease.

Dr. Walker’s primary research goal is to identify novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD). Her current projects are focused on identifying cellular and molecular modulators that mediate efficacy and toxicity of hydroxyurea, which is currently the only FDA approved drug for SCD. Dr. Walker’s work was the first to identify specific cell membrane transporters and microRNAs associated with the pharmacokinetics and clinical outcomes of hydroxyurea.