DKMS Group

Our Mission

Our organization is dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders by: creating awareness, recruiting hematopoietic stem cell donors to provide a second chance at life, raising funds to match donor registration costs, and supporting the improvement of blood cancer therapies via our own research.

We also support patients from day one of their diagnoses, providing family and friends with a positive way to get involved by organizing on-site as well as virtual stem cell donor drives that can enhance your donor search, rally community support and provide hope.

What we do:

• We create awareness of blood cancer diseases and treatments.
• We recruit stem cell donors to give a second chance at life to those in need of a stem cell donation.
• We engage the public as well as companies to organize on-site and virtual donor registration events.
• We raise funds to increase the size and diversity of the worldwide pool of available stem cell donors.
• We help to improve the treatment of diseases of the hematopoietic system – through our research and state-of-the-art technology in our laboratory.
• We support groundbreaking research projects by providing annual grants for talented young scientists in the field of cell therapy and transplantation.
• We honor outstanding physicians and scientists who have dedicated their lives to advancing the understanding and development of cell therapy and transplantation.
• We maintain our donor relationship from day one of registration until stem cell donation.
• We support patients and non-profit organizations in low- and middle-income countries to increase the access to transplantation for patients in need.

Executive Team

The overall direction and strategy of the international DKMS Group, including our international expansion, is led by our Global Executive Team, which is based in Germany. Each separate DKMS entity is managed and led by their local executive teams.

Chief Executive Officer

In 2018, Elke Neujahr rejoined a cause that had long been close to her heart by becoming Global CEO of the DKMS Group, as well as Executive Vice-Chairwoman of the Board of Directors in the US and Chairwoman of the Board in Poland and South Africa. With a doctorate in communication sciences, Elke has served national and international executives as an expert in all questions of corporate reputation, and crisis and change management. Initially holding a variety of positions in the industry, Elke ultimately switched to the consulting side of the corporate communications business. She has been Partner and CEO of a leading European PR consultancy before she successfully ran her own company for 15 years. With her 40 years of expertise in general management, she drives the development of the DKMS Group.

As the Global CEO, Elke oversees all DKMS operations and the organization’s continued international expansion. In addition to these duties, Elke is also acting in tandem with Katharina Harf as the Interim Managing Director for DKMS US. Furthermore, she is Managing Director of DKMS LIFE.

Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Alexander Schmidt has been Managing Director and the Chief Medical Officer of DKMS since 2013. He is responsible for all areas that provide professional information and advice as well as coordination and support for donors before, during and after a donation, thus ensuring safe bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell donations.

In addition, Alexander oversees the ongoing relationship management with transplant centers, search units and registries and the medical advice for all international DKMS entities. He and his teams are also responsible for various quality programs and scientific projects.

Alexander holds doctorates in mathematics and medicine. After working as an intern at Heidelberg University Hospital, he worked as a management consultant with a focus on health care issues. He has been working for DKMS since 2002 in various management positions. He is also the Managing Director of the DKMS Life Science Lab and the DKMS Stem Cell Bank and Chief Scientific Officer of the DKMS Registry.

Chief Financial Officer

Bernd Weinel has joined DKMS in 2023 as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer. He oversees finance and accounting as well as the administration and management of the DKMS entities.

Bernd studied business administration at the Goethe University Frankfurt and thereafter working many years in international companies including several years in Spain.

He brings many years of experience as an interim manager for outstanding assignments in the areas of Finance, Controlling, M&A and Restructuring as well as CFO and Finance Director in the medical technology, media, consumer goods, manufacturing and chemical industries.

Meet our Medical Council

The Medical Council advises the Board of the DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden (Foundation for Giving Life) on medical issues, monitors developments in the relevant medical field and initiates scientific programs. The council also nominates the annual winner of the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award. The members are all experienced professionals from the fields of medicine, science and healthcare.

Prof. Marcel R.M. van den Brink, MD, PhD, Chairman of the DKMS Medical Council and Vice Chairman of the DKMS Foundation Board

Marcel R.M. van den Brink, MD, PhD, is a leading oncologist with extensive experience in both laboratory and clinical research, specializing in strategies to improve allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). He is the President and Chief Physician Executive at City of Hope Los Angeles and National Medical Center, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States.

Prof. Thomas Klingebiel, MD, Vice Chairman of the DKMS Medical Council and Senior Advisor Access to Transplantation

Thomas Klingebiel, MD, was Director of the Clinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the Frankfurt University Hospital of the Goethe University from 2000-2021. The Clinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine also includes the focus areas of pediatric oncology, hematology and hemostaseology and the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Center Frankfurt; it is considered one of the best in Germany. Since July 1, 2021, he has been managing director of the Frankfurt-based association Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder Frankfurt e.V. (Help for Children with Cancer Frankfurt).

Dr. Marcelo Fernández-Viña, PhD

Marcelo Fernández-Viña, PhD, is a Professor for the Department of Pathology at Stanford University Medical School. He also serves as Director of the Histocompatibility, Immunogenetics and Disease Profiling Laboratory. Marcelo Fernández-Viña has been working in the fields of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics since 1982. He has more than 220 peer-reviewed publications, many of them focusing on HLA variation in multiple world populations, identifying susceptibility and resistance factors for diseases, and the impact of HLA mismatches in allogeneic transplantation.

Prof. Dr. Katharina Fleischhauer

Prof. Dr. Katharina Fleischhauer studied medicine in Bonn and spent four years as a Research Associate at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. From 1992 to 2013 she worked at the Istituto Scientifico San Raffaele in Milan, including as Head of the Immunogenetic Diagnostics and Research Laboratory. Since October 2013, Prof. Fleischhauer has led the Institute for Cell Therapeutic Research at the Essen University Hospital. She specializes in the research of T-cell alloreactivity in allogeneic stem cell transplantation. She was also awarded with the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award in 2016.

Stephen J. Forman, MD

Stephen J. Forman, MD, leads the City of Hope’s Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute and the Francis & Kathleen McNamara Distinguished Chair in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Los Angeles. He was awarded the 2019 DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award in honor of his outstanding achievements in cancer immunology, hematology, stem cell transplantation, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Stephen Forman’s research is focused on combining CMV-specific T cells and a CAR against the leukemia and lymphoma biomarker CD19. City of Hope’s CAR T-Cell Program has 16 active clinical trials and has treated nearly 300 patients.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Hoelzer

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Hoelzer was the Director of the Department of Hematology/Oncology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases at the Frankfurt University Hospital for more than 20 years. He has extensive clinical experience with inpatient and outpatient treatment of all hematological/oncological and internal diseases. Prof. Hoelzer is one of the most renowned haematologists and specialists in the field of acute lymphatic leukaemia. He was also awarded with the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award in 2017.

Prof. Emma Morris, PhD

Prof. Emma Morris has been a consultant since 2002 and has run her own research program since 2005. She is now a UCL professor and director of the UCL division of infection and immunity. Emma Morris is also director of the UCLH Biomedical Research Centre inflammation, immunity and Immunotherapeutic research theme. Her research group focuses on novel aspects of immune therapies for hematological malignancies and inherited immune deficiencies, predominantly cellular and gene therapy and more recently, gene editing.

Meet our Foundation Board

The DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden (Foundation for Giving Life) exclusively and directly pursues non-profit and charitable purposes. It achieves its purpose in particular by:

• taking measures and promoting institutions to improve patient care (support and after-care);
• recruiting and supporting informed volunteers who are willing to donate bone marrow or hematopoietic stem cells for the purpose of transplantation;
• developing and maintaining systems to simplify and accelerate the search for donors with the purpose of finding matching donors for bone marrow and blood stem cell transplantations;
• financially supporting scientific research in the field of bone marrow and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with non-related donors, with test methods of histocompatibility, for stem cell expansion and gene therapy;
• taking measures and promoting institutions for vocational training in the area of bone marrow or stem cell transplantation, in particular, medical specialists, clinical staff, search coordinators, the staff of donor centers and registries, scientists, geneticists, medical ethicists and laboratory staff;
• promoting the cooperation of all institutions active in the area of the Foundation’s purpose;
• publicity work to achieve the purpose of the Foundation.

Foundation Board Members

Katharina Harf, Chairwoman of the DKMS Foundation Board

For Katharina Harf, DKMS and the fight against blood cancer have been her life’s passion since the age of 14. After losing her mother to leukemia, Katharina put her focus into education, ultimately moving to the United States and graduating from Harvard cum laude. With her degree in hand, Katharina returned to DKMS, the company her father founded in the wake of her mother’s death, with a desire to expand the reach and impact of their life-saving work.

After helping her father found the first international branch of DKMS in New York City, Katharina took on a number of positions to help get the fledgling office on its feet. From managing the organization’s PR and Marketing departments to acting as CEO, Katharina’s passion for the well-being of patients and their families and her dedication to increasing awareness around the cause helped DKMS quickly grow, now with over one million registered donors in the US. Katharina is the Vice-Chairwoman of the Foundation Board of DKMS, acting as the public face of the organization. In addition to the current scope of her global duties, Katharina is also overseeing operations and strategy for the country’s offices.

Marcel R.M. van den Brink, MD, PhD, Vice Chairman of the DKMS Foundation Board and Chairman of the DKMS Medical Council

Marcel R.M. van den Brink, MD, PhD, is a leading oncologist with extensive experience in both laboratory and clinical research, specializing in strategies to improve allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). He is the President and Chief Physician Executive at City of Hope Los Angeles and National Medical Center, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States.

Laurence David Atlas

Laurence David Atlas is a senior executive and attorney. He is the Special Counsel at the Office of the General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, an independent United States government agency regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable.

Niren Chaudhary

Niren Chaudhary is Chairman of the Board of Panera Brands, one of the world’s largest fast casual restaurant companies with nearly 4,000 locations in 10 countries. Niren’s daughter Aisha was born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). When she was six months old, she had to undergo a bone marrow transplant. As a side effect of the medical therapy following chemotherapy, she developed pulmonary fibrosis – a type of condition that causes irreversible scarring of the lungs. She died at the age of 18. Niren dedicates his personal time serving on the Tufts Medical Centre Board and as an advocate for DKMS.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Hoelzer

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dieter Hoelzer was the Director of the Department of Hematology/Oncology, Rheumatology and Infectious Diseases at the Frankfurt University Hospital for more than 20 years. He has extensive clinical experience with inpatient and outpatient treatment of all hematological/oncological and internal diseases. Prof. Hoelzer is one of the most renowned haematologists and specialists in the field of acute lymphatic leukaemia. He was also awarded with the DKMS Mechtild Harf Science Award in 2017.

Prof. Dr. Carl H. June

Prof. Dr. Carl H. June has been a pioneer in the field of immunotherapy, most widely known for the development of T-cell therapy for cancer. His work led to the development and commercialization of tisagenlecleucel, the first FDA-approved cell therapy. He is currently the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2020 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. He was honored with the DKMS Mechtild Harf Award in 2023 for his outstanding achievements in cancer immunology.

Anna-Lena Kamenetzky-Wetzel

Anna-Lena Kamenetzky-Wetzel is a former Partner and Head of Business Development at JAB Holding in Washington, DC as well as former Co-Head of JAB Consumer Partners. Consequently, she founded and runs K4 Family Investments, an investment company focused on backing growth companies in consumer goods and services. She serves on the Boards of Kitu Life, Inc (owner of the brand Super Coffee), Fuzzy and Project Pollo.

Prof. Dr. Thomas Klingebiel, Vice Chairman of the DKMS Medical Council and Senior Advisor Access to Transplantation

Thomas Klingebiel, MD, was Director of the Clinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at the Frankfurt University Hospital of the Goethe University from 2000-2021. The Clinic for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine also includes the focus areas of pediatric oncology, hematology and hemostaseology and the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Center Frankfurt; it is considered one of the best in Germany. Since July 1, 2021, he has been managing director of the Frankfurt-based association Hilfe für krebskranke Kinder Frankfurt e.V. (Help for Children with Cancer Frankfurt).

Alejandro Santo Domingo

Alejandro Santo Domingo is the Managing Director of Quadrant Capital Advisors Inc. in New York. He is also a member of the Board of Anheuser-Busch InBev, Chairman of Bavaria S.A., member of the Board of Backus & Johnston SAA in Peru, Director of Caracol Televisión and Fundación Mario Santo Domingo.