Rainer Storb

Rainer Friedrich Storb (born 26 June 1935 in Essen, Germany) is a German-American hematologist, oncologist, and researcher in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. His work includes research contributions to allogeneic‐transplantation biology, prevention of graft-versus-host disease, conditioning regimen innovation, using the graft-versus-tumor effect as an early form of immunotherapy.

Biography Storb was born in Essen, Germany. After attending Gymnasium Essen-Borbeck, he began his medical studies in 1955 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the University of Freiburg, earning his M.D. degree in 1960 from Freiburg.

He underwent clinical training in Germany (surgery, internal medicine, gynecology), and later held fellowships in Paris under eminent hematology researchers including Jean Bernard and Marcel Bessis, supported by NATO Science Fellowships and in Seattle supported by a Fulbright Fellowship.

Academic and clinical career In 1965, Storb joined the University of Washington in Seattle under a Fulbright Scholarship, working in the Division of Hematology and with E. Donnall Thomas, a future Nobel Laureate, to help develop early marrow transplantation methodologies. and Professor in Transplantation Biology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. The latter was founded in 1975.

As of 2025, Storb has authored more than 1,600 scientific papers with approximately 130,000 citations.

Research Storb came to Seattle in 1965 on a Fulbright scholarship after medical training in Germany and postdoctoral work with Marcel Bessis in Paris,

Over the course of six decades, Storb’s research contributed to advances that helped transform hematopoietic cell transplantation from an experimental approach into a widely used treatment for blood cancers and other bone marrow-based and immune disorders.

His research addressed graft-versus-host disease, donor compatibility, conditioning regimens, and the immunobiology of transplantation, among other areas. Together with a mentee, Paul Weiden, he provided the first description of graft-versus-leukemia (tumor) effects, in which transplanted immune cells eradicate the patient’s underlying malignancy.

Storb’s research has focused on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and its clinical applications.

Working initially in canine models including pet dogs with spontaneous lymphoma and other blood disorders referred by veterinarians, he helped establish the principles of histocompatibility typing, conditioning regimens, and prevrention of graft-versus-host disease prevention, many of which later translated into clinical practice.

In later years, he was instrumental in pioneering nonmyeloablative or “mini-transplant” conditioning regimens, which expanded access to transplantation for older patients and those with comorbidities.

Awards and recognition He received the Henry M. Stratton Medal from the American Society of Hematology in 1997, the Society’s E. Donnall Thomas Prize in 2005, and its mentorship in Basic Sciences Award in 2012. In addition, he has delivered named lectures and received lifetime achievement awards from professional societies, including the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. In 2025, the American Society of Hematology presented him with the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, recognizing his decades of contributions to transplantation biology and mentorship.