The Keystone Program in Blood Cell Development and Cancer

Richard R. Hardy, Ph.D.
Co-Leader, Keystone Program in Blood Cell Development and Cancer

Dr. Richard R. “Randy” Hardy is a professor of Fox Chase Cancer Center’s scientific staff. In addition to his role as co-leader of the Keystone Program in Blood Stems and Cancer, he is also a member of the Keystone Program in Epigenetics and Progenitor Cells. Additionally, Hardy is director of the Research Flow Cytometry Facility and the DNA Sequencing Facility and a member of the Immune Cell Development and Host Defense program at Fox Chase. His research interests include development of the immune system’s B lymphocytes from stem cells in fetal liver and bone marrow; regulation of this process by pre-B-cell receptors; and the development and function of B-cell subsets, including the early generated B-1 B cells and their role in autoimmunity, leukemia and chronic B-cell lymphoma. These B1 B-cells predominate during prenatal and newborn development but dwindle to a small minority in adults. This unusual cell type holds special interest because of its tendency to grow out of control and its association with hematologic cancers. Hardy’s research includes study of B-1 cell genes and antibody targets to help reveal the genetic origin of related cancers and to increase understanding of their role in malignancies. Hardy has published more than 130 journal articles and more than 30 reviews and book chapters since completing his doctorate in 1980. The Institute for Scientific Information ranks him among the “most highly cited scientists”. He is a member of the Faculty of 1000 Biology, a new online research tool that highlights interesting papers in biology based on leading scientists’ recommendations. Hardy earned his B.S. in chemistry from the Illinois Institute of Technology and his Ph.D., in biochemistry from the California Institute of Technology, where he received the Herbert Newby McCoy Award for outstanding achievement in research. He completed his postdoctoral training at Stanford University, where he was a fellow of the California Division of the American Cancer Society. He was a visiting scientist at Osaka University’s Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Japan for two years before joining Fox Chase in 1987.