St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
EVP & Scientific Director

Dr. Downing received a BS in Biochemistry in 1977 and an MD in 1981 from the University of Michigan. He then completed a residency in Anatomic Pathology at Washington University in St. Louis, and a fellowship in Hematopathology at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He joined the faculty of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 1984 and has risen through the ranks to his present position as Scientific Director and Executive Vice President. The work in his own laboratory is focused on the investigation of the fundamental regulatory mechanisms that control normal and leukemic hematopoiesis, and on cancer genomics and its application to the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancers.