The directors of the laboratories, Carolyn Hoppe, MD and Frans Kuypers, PhD have a
long standing record in hemoglobinopathy and red cell research. The Lab managers
Mahin Azimi, BS and Sandra larkin, MS have extensive experience in laboratory
management and lead a team of experienced laboratory staff to provide comprehensive
services for the analysis of clinical samples as well as samples generated in basic and
translational studies to improve the quality of life of hemoglobinopathy patients. In
addition to laboratory Services this team is highly experienced in the design of clinical
study management including preparation and shipment of samples as well as database
management for sample storage and reporting. Dr. Carolyn Hoppe is a
hematologist/oncologist at Children’s Hospital & Research Oakland (CHRCO) and a
clinical scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) with a focus
in translational research in sickle cell disease. She attended the University of Cincinnati,
College of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics and fellowship in
pediatric hematology-oncology at CHRCO. She has been a team member of the
Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program at CHRCO for the past ten years. The past
recipient of the ASH Fellow Scholar Award and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Clinical Scientist Development Award, Dr. Hoppe’s research has focused on genetic
modifiers of stroke in children with sickle cell disease. As a member of the American
College of Medical Genetics Hemoglobinopathies Work Group, Dr. Hoppe helped
develop the newborn screening for hemoglobin disorders ACT sheets for primary care
providers nationally. She has worked closely with the California Newborn Screening
Program in revising the ACMG guidelines and algorithms as needed to be consistent
with California policies and procedures. She is a consultant for the MCHB-HRSA
sponsored Talking Drums Project and provides interpretation of laboratory tests used in
counseling for sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies. Together with the
sickle cell team at CHRCO, Dr. Hoppe continues to participate in sickle cell outreach and
community and provider education aimed to improve coping and quality of life for
children and families with sickle cell disease. She is a cosponsor for the California
Sickle Cell Statewide Symposium. Dr. Frans Kuypers is a senior scientist at Children’s
Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) with a focus on research in membrane
biology and hemoglobinopathies. He received two masters degrees, one in Chemical
engineering and the other in Chemistry at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
After a PhD degree in Lipid Biochemistry he joined CHORI in 1985. In 1987 he started
the Red Cell laboratory to provide support for Clinical and translational studies in
hemoglobinopathies. His basic research on red cell membrane lipid organization and its
relation to health and disease has resulted in more than 150 publicatio ns. Alterations in
the complex system of enzymatic and signal transduction pathways that maintain red
cell membrane lipid integrity play an important role in the pathology of
hemoglobinopathies. His interest in erythropoiesis has recently led to the discovery that
the human term placenta is a rich resource of hematopoietic cells that can harvested,
and augment cord blood for the use in bone marrow transplant. Together with the
mechanical engineering department at UC Berkeley he develops new technology that
combines nanotechnology and the measurement of heterogeneous cell populations.
The red cell laboratory laboratory is an integral part of the translational research efforts
pursued by the hematology department at Children’s Hospital Oakland, serves as a core
laboratory for multi-center clinical studies, and is a training resource for clinical fellows.
Mahin Azimi, BS is the Supervisor of the hemoglinopathy laboratory and the Reference
Lab of State of California at Children’s Hospital & Research Oakland (CHRCO). Mahin
has received 3 Bachelor’s degrees: one in Social Sciences from the University of
California at Berkeley, one in medical laboratory sciences from Geneva Switzerland, and
a Bachelor of Science in Biology from California State University at Hayward with a
specialty in Clinical Laboratory Science. She currently holds 3 licenses in the State of
California: ASCP, NCA, and
. She has been been working in the laboratory at
CHRCO since 1994. This needs a bit more and maybe a different picture Sandra
Larkin is a Senior Staff Research Associate, CHORI and the supervisor of the Red Cell
Laboratory. She received her Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of
California at Berkeley in 1992 with an Environmental Science major and a Forestry
minor. She began work at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in 1995. She
completed a Master’s of Science degree in 2004 at San Francisco State University in
Biomedical Laboratory Sciences while working full time in the lab. Studies in membrane
biology and hemoglobinopathies have been the center of her research for the last 15
years. In addition to characterizing several factors and proteins that maintain red blood
cell membranes, she has been involved in studies that have defined membrane
alterations that play a role in the pathology in sickle cell disease and thalassemia. As
supervisor of the red cell laboratory she has provided a resource for the analysis of
blood components in translational research studies in hemoglobinopathies. she has
provided leadership in the developoment of protocols for sample collection and shipment
procedures, development of database systems for sample tracking and results,
coordination of laboratory analysis on samples collected for these studies, the analasis
of the data, and presention the results to the collaborators both informally as well as at
scientific meetings. As manager of the CHORI flowcytometry facility at CHORI, she has
been responsible for flowcytometric analysis of blood cells and stem cell populations.