Jennifer A. Kanakry, MD
Board Certifications: Hematology and Internal Medicine
Specializations: Hematology
Languages: English
Locations: Hackensack, NJ
Call Hackensack, NJ: (551) 996-5900
Jennifer A. Kanakry, MD, is a hematologist who specializes in treating a wide variety of malignant and benign blood disorders. She uses the most advanced cellular treatments to help patients overcome disease. Dr. Kanakry is part of the Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA) team in Washington, D.C., and has received multiple awards for the excellence of service she provides. Contact RCCA today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Kanakry.
Clinical Interests and expertise
Dr. Kanakry specializes in hematology. In particular, she has expertise in treating blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, myeloid disorders, myeloproliferative neoplasms, and myelodysplastic syndrome, among others. She helps patients manage and overcome these diseases using cellular therapies, such as stem cell transplantations. These advanced treatments use the patient’s immune system to combat and potentially cure blood cancers.
When treating patients, Dr. Kanakry provides a personalized touch. Every individual has a unique personality with their own hopes and fears. Dr. Kanakry gets to know them as a person, not just as a patient, to find out how she can ease their anxiety. This approach fosters trust and hope, helping patients through a difficult time.
Professional Background and Academic Achievements
Dr. Kanakry is active in medical research and routinely contributes to efforts to improve the field of cellular therapy. To this end, she has held multiple leadership and chair positions with National Institutes of Health (NIH). These include:
Program Director, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship, 2021-2025
Acting Program Director, Hematology/Oncology Fellowship, 2021-2022
Chair, Safety Monitoring Committee, National Cancer Institute (NCI), 2017-2021
Vice Co-Chair Staff Clinician Representative, Staff Scientist/Staff Clinician Committee, 2016-2018
Clinical Head of the Experimental Transplantation and Immunology/Immunotherapy Branch, NCI, 2015-2022
She has also earned multiple awards and honors for her scientific work, including:
- NCI Director’s Award: 2024
- Staff Clinician Leadership Merit Award, Center for Cancer Research, NCI, NIH: 2023
- American Society of Hematology Scholar Award: 2014
- Center for AIDS Research Scholar Award: 2013
- W. Leigh Thompson Excellence in Research Award: 2012
- Alpha Omega Alpha inductee: 2007
- Social Justice Award: 2005
- C. Everett Koop Scholar: 2005
- American Cancer Society Scholar: 2004
- Psi Chi International Psychiatry Honor Society inductee: 2002
Dr. Kanakry is a member of the American Society of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT). This is an international association of more than 3,900 physicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals from over 50 different countries. They work together to improve the applications and outcomes of cell transplantation therapies.
Education & Training
- Medical school: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, 2003-2005; Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 2005-2007
- Residency: Osler Medical Residency Program of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Internal Medicine, 2010
- Fellowship: Johns Hopkins Hospital, Hematology, 2013
- Other training: Intramural Research Training Award Fellow, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 2002-2003
- Board certifications: Internal Medicine and Hematology
About Jennifer A. Kanakry, MD
Medicine was not the first career Dr. Kanakry considered. “I had no doctors in my family,” she says, “and I grew up without health insurance, so I had a lack of exposure and role models.” In college, however, she gravitated toward the sciences. A friend encouraged her to pursue medical school, and she began the pre-medicine track.
It was in medical school, while spending time in weekly clinics with hematologists at Brown University, that Dr. Kanakry discovered her passion for hematology. This passion continued into her residency when she gravitated toward patients in the cancer center.
“I was particularly drawn toward blood cancers,” says Dr. Kanakry, “which could present so aggressively, yet in some cases, might be cured.” She was fascinated with immunology and the role of blood transplantation as a potential cure. The field of transplants and immunology is complex, with great strides being made almost daily. “There are many more to come in the future,” Dr. Kanakry adds. “It is exciting to be a part of those advances and new directions in treatment.”
With newly diagnosed patients, Dr. Kanakry takes a team approach. The patient, their loved ones, and their medical team all work together for the smoothest treatment process possible. Through communication and collaboration, they give patients direction and clarity through an uncertain time.
It is this relational aspect that Dr. Kanakry finds the most rewarding. “We establish long-term relationships with our patients,” she says, “starting often at first diagnosis and then extending for years beyond, including survivorship care.” At every step, she strives to support patients so they can focus on healing and hope. This deep involvement is an honor and, in her words, “the most rewarding part of practicing.”
Locations
Dr. Kanakry serves patients at RCCA in Washington, D.C.
Hospital Affiliations
She also maintains a hospital affiliation with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, which is part of the MedStar Health network and has been ranked as one of the region’s best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.
We are here for you
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 844-346-7222. You can also schedule an appointment by calling the RCCA location nearest you.
Regional Cancer Care Associates is one of fewer than 200 medical practices in the country selected to participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM); a recent Medicare initiative aimed at improving care coordination and access to and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing chemotherapy treatment.