William G. Wierda, M.D., Ph.D. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

William G. Wierda, M.D., Ph.D. is an associate professor of medicine in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the University of California, Riverside, and his medical degree and Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School in North Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Wierda completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and a subspecialty fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He has previously served as a clinical instructor at UCSD and a staff physician at the San Diego Veterans Healthcare System. Dr. Wierda took his current position at MD Anderson Cancer Center in May, 2001.

Dr. Wierda's research interests are in immunology and immunotherapy strategies for hematologic malignancies. His interest and research is aimed at understanding the immune defects in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), with a goal directed at correcting these defects and restoring immune function. He has worked on developing vaccine strategies and gene therapy as treatment for patients with CLL. Ultimately, the goal of his research is to incorporate immunotherapy into treatment for patients with CLL. His clinical interest is also in developing frontline and salvage chemoimmunotherapies for patients with CLL.

Dr. Wierda is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Hematology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Association of Immunologists. He currently serves as a reviewer for Blood, Cancer, and Leukemia & Lymphoma.