Faculty profile

Natasha Kekre

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Assistant ProfessorDepartment of MedicineUniversity of Ottawa

Natasha Kekre

Assistant Professor

Department of Medicine

Faculty of Medicine

University of Ottawa

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Supervision signals

Professors usually supervise graduate students in their department's programs.
39 publications in the last five years, latest in 2026.
Senior (last) author on 6 recent papers, a sign of leading a research group.
Principal investigator on 4 research grants (4 CIHR), most recently in 2025.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

Publications

Citations

h-index

Collaborators

Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the works listed on the university profile; citation counts come from Dimensions.

Profiles and links

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Signals and details

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Ottawa profile.

Access To Care Car-T Leukemia Point-Of-Care Biomanufacturing Car-T Cells Immunotherapy Scleroderma Systemic Sclerosis

Latest papers

Defining the Limits of Pre-Transplant Risk Prediction in AML: Evidence From Machine Learning and Regression Models.
Transplantation and cellular therapy · 2026
Preventing surgery-induced natural killer cell suppression and metastases by inhibiting PI3K-gamma signaling in myeloid-derived suppressor cells.
Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2026
Factors Associated With Prolonged Inpatient Stay in Patients Undergoing Outpatient Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation.
Transplantation and cellular therapy · 2026

All 85 publications

Latest funding

Oral Vancomycin for the Prevention of C. difficile Infection in High-Risk HCT and CAR-T Patients (VAPOR-HCT): A Pilot Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
CIHR · 2025 · Principal investigator
$100,000
Canadian-Made CD19 CAR-T Therapy for Refractory Systemic Sclerosis, from the Canadian Led Immunotherapies Collaborative (CLIC-03 Trial)
CIHR · 2025 · Nominated PI
$1,216,351
Inflammation, clonal hematopoiesis, and venous thromboembolism among ethnic and racially underrepresented older adults
CIHR · 2024 · Co-investigator
$19,728

All 5 grants and awards

85 publications.

Defining the Limits of Pre-Transplant Risk Prediction in AML: Evidence From Machine Learning and Regression Models.

Masurekar AN, Burkett KM, Rahgozar A, Walter RB, Othus M, Abrol K, Mortezaagha P, Thyagu S, Nampoothiri RV, Kennah M, Kekre N, Giguere P, Abduallah Y, Atkins H, Cieniak C, Berardi P, Ramsay T, Mallick R, Carrier M, Bredeson C, Allan D

Transplantation and cellular therapy2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtct.2025.12.996 PMID: 41482160

Preventing surgery-induced natural killer cell suppression and metastases by inhibiting PI3K-gamma signaling in myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

Angka L, Tennakoon G, Cook DP, Martel AB, Market M, Tanese de Souza C, Cummins E, Samudio I, Kekre N, Ardolino M, Vanderhyden BC, Kennedy MA, Auer RC

Journal for immunotherapy of cancer2026

DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2025-013304 PMID: 41611243

Factors Associated With Prolonged Inpatient Stay in Patients Undergoing Outpatient Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Koo E, Prince C, Allan D, Atkins H, Bredeson C, Kekre N, Kennah M, Masurekar A, Thyagu S, Vasudevan Nampoothiri R

Transplantation and cellular therapy2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtct.2026.01.036 PMID: 41690552

Late Immune Effector Cell-Associated Hematologic Toxicity After CD19 CAR-T Therapy: Incidence, Clinical Course, and Resource Utilization.

Giguère P, Akbarian N, Prince C, Thavorn K, Cieniak C, Granger M, Hamelin L, Nampoothiri RV, Kennah M, Kekre N

European journal of haematology2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1111/ejh.70103 PMID: 41545019

Effect of Stem Cell Cryopreservation on Day 60 Donor Chimerism in Unrelated Donor Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation using Reduced Intensity Conditioning and ATG-based GVHD Prophylaxis.

Abduallah Y, Allan D, Atkins H, Bredeson C, Kekre N, Kennah M, Masurekar A, Thyagu S, Nampoothiri RV

Transplantation and cellular therapy2026

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtct.2026.09.001 PMID: 42700928

Immunogenicity and Safety of Third, Fourth, and Subsequent COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in Recipients of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

Buchan CA, Agbayani G, Hueniken K, Vijenthira A, Sebag M, Wang P, Hicks LK, Hay AE, Assouline S, Fraser G

Transplantation and Cellular Therapy20263 citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.jtct.2025.10.037

Immunogenicity and safety of a third and subsequent COVID-19 vaccine doses in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias

Bhella S, Agbayani G, Hueniken K, Vijenthira A, Wilkin AM, Sebag M, Wang P, Hicks LK, Hay AE, Hosseini-Moghaddam SM

Blood advances2026

DOI: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025018117

Three-year follow-up analysis of first-line axicabtagene ciloleucel for high-risk large B-cell lymphoma: the ZUMA-12 study.

Chavez JC, Dickinson M, Munoz J, Ulrickson ML, Thieblemont C, Oluwole OO, Herrera AF, Ujjani CS, Lin Y, Riedell PA, Kekre N, de Vos S, Wulff J, Williams CM, Winters J, Kloos I, Xu H, Neelapu SS

Blood2025

DOI: 10.1182/blood.2024027347 PMID: 39938019

Impact of Day 11 Methotrexate Dose Adjustments due to Mucositis on the Outcomes Following Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant in the Setting of Anti Thymocyte Globulin (ATG) Based GVHD Prophylaxis.

Dhir V, Prince C, Allan D, Atkins H, Bredeson C, Kekre N, Kennah M, Masurekar A, Vasudevan Nampoothiri R

European journal of haematology2025

DOI: 10.1111/ejh.14380 PMID: 39757868

Identifying Modifiers of CAR T-Cell Therapeutic Efficacy and Safety: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.

Lalu MM, Igweokpala S, Kekre N, Jeffers MS, Montroy J, Ghiasi M, Hay K, McComb S, Weeratna R, Atkins H, Hutton B, Yahya A, Masurekar A, Giguere P, Sabri E, Sobh M, Fergusson DA

Transfusion medicine reviews2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.tmrv.2025.150897 PMID: 40280037

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Access To Care Dear Professor Kekre, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Defining the Limits of Pre-Transplant Risk Prediction in AML: Evidence From Machine Learning and Regression Models." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Oral Vancomycin for the Prevention of C. difficile Infection in High-Risk HCT and CAR-T Patients (VAPOR-HCT): A Pilot Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

Profile data last refreshed on September 25, 2026 from the university directory, publication records and CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding.

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Natasha Kekre

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Defining the Limits of Pre-Transplant Risk Prediction in AML: Evidence From Machine Learning and Regression Models.

Preventing surgery-induced natural killer cell suppression and metastases by inhibiting PI3K-gamma signaling in myeloid-derived suppressor cells.

Factors Associated With Prolonged Inpatient Stay in Patients Undergoing Outpatient Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Late Immune Effector Cell-Associated Hematologic Toxicity After CD19 CAR-T Therapy: Incidence, Clinical Course, and Resource Utilization.

Effect of Stem Cell Cryopreservation on Day 60 Donor Chimerism in Unrelated Donor Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation using Reduced Intensity Conditioning and ATG-based GVHD Prophylaxis.

Immunogenicity and Safety of Third, Fourth, and Subsequent COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in Recipients of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

Immunogenicity and safety of a third and subsequent COVID-19 vaccine doses in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias

Three-year follow-up analysis of first-line axicabtagene ciloleucel for high-risk large B-cell lymphoma: the ZUMA-12 study.

Impact of Day 11 Methotrexate Dose Adjustments due to Mucositis on the Outcomes Following Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant in the Setting of Anti Thymocyte Globulin (ATG) Based GVHD Prophylaxis.

Identifying Modifiers of CAR T-Cell Therapeutic Efficacy and Safety: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.

Oral Vancomycin for the Prevention of C. difficile Infection in High-Risk HCT and CAR-T Patients (VAPOR-HCT): A Pilot Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Canadian-Made CD19 CAR-T Therapy for Refractory Systemic Sclerosis, from the Canadian Led Immunotherapies Collaborative (CLIC-03 Trial)

Inflammation, clonal hematopoiesis, and venous thromboembolism among ethnic and racially underrepresented older adults

Paving The Way to a Canadian Standard of Care with CAR-T Cellular Therapy: Phase II Trial of CD19 CAR-T for Relapsed/Refractory Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (CLIC-01A)

Paving The Way to a Canadian Standard of Care with CAR-T Cellular Therapy: Phase II Trial of CD19 CAR-T for Relapsed/Refractory Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (CLIC-01A)

Frequent collaborators

Harold Atkins

David Allan

Christopher Bredeson

Kednapa Thavorn

Kednapa Thavorn

Michael Kennah

Justin Presseau

Lothar Huebsch

Mitchell Sabloff

Alan Tinmouth

Brian Hutton

Terry Hawrysh

Jason Tay

Arleigh McCurdy

Doug Coyle

Jean-Simon Diallo

Kevin Hay

Jennifer Quizi

Amaris Karin Balitsky

Alissa Visram

Michael Sebag

Dean Fergusson

Curtis Cooper

Jonathan Kimmelman

Dawn Maze

Mads Daugaard

Manoj Lalu

Marc Carrier

Gonzalo Sapisochin

Sarah Brode

Leanne Mortimer

Antonio Giulivi

Derek Jonker

Nicolas Pineault

Stephen Betschel

Robert Smith

Tara Baetz

Michael Chu

Natasha Kekre

Donna Reece