Charles Mullighan has made seminal discoveries concerning the genomic basis of acute lymphoblastic and other high risk leukemias. He has defined many new genetic subtypes of acute leukemia and their inherited and somatic mutations, and demonstrated how these drive leukemia formation, tumor lineage and treatment response. His work defining the relationship between genetic heterogeneity and clonal evolution in acute leukemia has broadly influenced the field of cancer evolution. These discoveries have had profound impact by driving the implementation of diagnostic genomic analysis, and the development of precision medicine approaches for leukemia.
He received his undergraduate degree in medicine and surgery, and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Adelaide. He is a fellow of the of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Notable honors are elected fellowship of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and American Association of Physicians, the Meyenburg Prize for Cancer Research, the Dameshek Prize of the American Society of Hematology, and the AACR-St. Baldrick’s Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pediatric Cancer Research.
Professional position
- Member and Divisional Director for Research, Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Senior Deputy Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Director, Center of Excellence for Leukemia Studies, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- William E. Evans Endowed Chair, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
