Martin H. Steinberg MD
Professor, Hematology & Medical Oncology
Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
75 E. Newton St | (617) 414-1020mhsteinb@bu.edu

Sections
Hematology & Medical Oncology
Centers
Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease
Center for Regenerative Medicine
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
Biography
Martin H Steinberg, MD, is a hematologist/internist whose clinical and research focus has been on disorders of the red blood cell with special emphasis on sickle cell disease. He has published 450 articles and 3 textbooks on the science and clinical features of sickle cell disease and related disorders. A graduate of Cornell University and Tufts University School of Medicine he completed post-graduate training in New York and Boston. He conducts basic, translational and clinical studies devoted to understanding the pathophysiology and genetic basis of sickle cell phenotypic heterogeneity. He modeled the HbF concentration among red blood cells showing that only patients with very high HbF levels were likely to have major benefit, therefor setting a standard for HbF induction therapies. He identified cis- and trans-acting elements that help explain the high HbF levels of Saudi patients from the Eastern Province whose sickle hemoglobin gene is associated with the Arab-Indian haplotype. Using candidate gene, genome-wide association studies and next-generation sequencing to understand the genetic determinants of sickle cell disease heterogeneity, Dr. Steinberg and his coworkers modeled disease severity and selected subphenotypes of disease to discover hitherto unsuspected genetic associations. He has also reimagined the pathophysiologic features of sickle cell anemia, establishing with his collaborators a new widely accepted paradigm that the pathophysiology of sickle cell disease is a combination of both sickle vasoocclusion and intravascular hemolysis that has important prognostic and therapeutic implications. He also reported the first of a new class of hemoglobin disorders, the thalassemic hemoglobinopathies, wherein a single exonic mutation causes both a variant hemoglobin but also phenotype of thalassemia because of hemoglobin hyper-instability and catabolism.
Other Positions
Websites
Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease
Hematology & Medical Oncology Faculty
Education
MD, Tufts University School of Medicine
AB, Cornell University
Publications
McManus M, Frangoul H, Steinberg MH. CRISPR-based gene therapy for the induction of fetal hemoglobin in sickle cell disease. Expert Rev Hematol. 2024 Dec; 17(12):957-966. PMID: 39535263.
Published on 7/31/2024Sun Y, Benmhammed H, Al Abdullatif S, Habara A, Fu E, Brady J, Williams C, Ilinski A, Sharma A, Mahdaviani K, Alekseyev YO, Campbell JD, Steinberg MH, Cui S. PGC-1a agonism induces fetal hemoglobin and exerts antisickling effects in sickle cell disease. Sci Adv. 2024 Aug 02; 10(31):eadn8750. PMID: 39083598.
Published on 4/24/2024Frangoul H, Locatelli F, Sharma A, Bhatia M, Mapara M, Molinari L, Wall D, Liem RI, Telfer P, Shah AJ, Cavazzana M, Corbacioglu S, Rondelli D, Meisel R, Dedeken L, Lobitz S, de Montalembert M, Steinberg MH, Walters MC, Eckrich MJ, Imren S, Bower L, Simard C, Zhou W, Xuan F, Morrow PK, Hobbs WE, Grupp SA. Exagamglogene Autotemcel for Severe Sickle Cell Disease. N Engl J Med. 2024 May 09; 390(18):1649-1662. PMID: 38661449.
Published on 11/21/2023Heitzer AM, Rashkin SR, Trpchevska A, Longoria JN, Rampersaud E, Olufadi Y, Wang WC, Raches D, Potter B, Steinberg MH, King AA, Kang G, Takemoto CM, Hankins JS. Catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT) is associated with neurocognitive functioning in patients with sickle cell disease. Curr Res Transl Med. 2024 Jun; 72(2):103433. PMID: 38244277.
Published on 7/14/2023Steinberg MH, Gladwin MT. "Severity" in adult sickle cell disease. Am J Hematol. 2023 Oct; 98(10):1508-1511. PMID: 37449407.
Published on 5/12/2023Ribeil JA, Pollock G, Frangoul H, Steinberg MH. An integrated therapeutic approach to sickle cell disease management beyond infancy. Am J Hematol. 2023 Jul; 98(7):1087-1096. PMID: 37170801.
Published on 11/30/2022Sebastiani P, Steinberg MH. Fetal hemoglobin per erythrocyte (HbF/F-cell) after gene therapy for sickle cell anemia. Am J Hematol. 2023 Feb; 98(2):E32-E34. PMID: 36420999.
Published on 10/17/2022Cyrus C, Vatte C, Al-Nafie A, Chathoth S, Akhtar MS, Darwish M, Almohazey D, AlDubayan SH, Steinberg MH, Al-Ali A. miRNA Expression Associated with HbF in Saudi Sickle Cell Anemia. Medicina (Kaunas). 2022 Oct 17; 58(10). PMID: 36295630.
Published on 9/8/2022Minniti C, Brugnara C, Steinberg MH. HbSC disease: A time for progress. Am J Hematol. 2022 Nov; 97(11):1390-1393. PMID: 36073655.
Published on 7/1/2022Steinberg MH. World Sickle Cell Day 2022: Progress & prospects. Indian J Med Res. 2022 Jul; 156(1):10-13. PMID: 35946231.
Media Mentions
Published on 12/12/2023
BU Researchers Helped Develop the First FDA-Approved Gene Therapies to Treat Sickle Cell Disease
Published on 12/8/2023
FDA Approves Two Gene Therapies for Sickle Cell, First CRISPR-Based Medicine
Published on 11/27/2023
Published on 11/8/2023
What if a CRISPR cure isn’t such an easy choice?
Published on 4/3/2023
First CRISPR therapy seeks landmark approval
Published on 3/11/2022
Gene Therapy Trials for Sickle Cell Disease Hold Hope for Durable Effects
Published on 2/18/2022
Sickle cell disease could have a cure soon, gene therapy shows good results in clinical trial
Published on 10/6/2020
Fulcrum’s FTX-6058 Shows Promising Efficacy as SCD Therapy in Disease Models
View full list of 8 media mentions.