City and State’s 2025 “50 over 50”—a list recognizing age disruptors who have been driving change for decades—includes Karina Yazdanbakhsh, PhD, Vice President and Director of Research for the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute (LFKRI).
“Karina Yazdanbakhsh is developing therapeutic treatments and diagnostic tools for people with sickle cell disease with a focus on reducing risks involved in lifesaving red blood cell transfusions. Yazdanbakhsh, who has been at New York Blood Center since 1996, is conducting research funded by the National Institutes of Health. ‘I am intrigued by the way our immune system defends us against infections yet can become harmful if it isn’t carefully regulated,’ she says. ‘My curiosity about the immune system’s functions has guided my research toward identifying therapies to reverse immune dysregulation that contributes to disease complications in sickle cell disease.’”