Dina Parekh, MD

BS, Georgetown University
MD, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Dr. Parekh completed residency in Pediatrics at San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium and her fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

She served as a military medical officer in the Army for over 20 years in both clinical, operational, and leadership roles. Throughout, Dr. Parekh was deeply engaged in undergraduate and graduate medical education, holding positions such as the Service Chief for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and serving as an active member on the Admissions Committee at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences prior to her retirement in 2022.

Dr. Parekh then joined the NIH and now serves as the Director of Undergraduate Medical Training Programs, where she oversees the Medical Research Scholars Program, the premier, year-long in-residence comprehensive professional development program for future clinician-scientists to spend a year during medical school engaging in basic, translational, and clinical research under the mentorship of today’s biomedical research leaders. She also directs the Clinical Electives Program, which offers medical students exposure to clinical care in a research setting.

Dr. Parekh’s clinic focus has been on multidisciplinary, family-centered care in the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology realm, with special interest in acute and long-term Survivorship and Sickle Cell Disease, as well as supportive care particularly in the AYA population. Dr. Parekh continues her clinical work at NIH on protocols with the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s Sickle Cell Branch and Hematology consult service.

• Legion of Merit
• Army Surgeon General’s “A” Proficiency Designator
• Master Clinician, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
• Bailey K Ashford Laboratory Research Award (2011), National Capitol Consortium  
• Bronze Star Medal 

Parekh DS, Eaton WA, Thein SL. Recent developments in the use of pyruvate kinase activators as a new approach for treating sickle cell disease. Blood. 2024 Mar 7;143(10):866-871. doi: 10.1182/blood.2023021167. PMID: 38118071; PMCID: PMC10940061.

Parekh, DS and Thein, SL, “Hemolytic Anemia,” IN Rodgers, GP and Young, NS, eds. In: The Bethesda Handbook of Clinical Hematology, 5th edition; Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins, Wolters Kluwer. Philadelphia, PA. 2023: Chapter 3.

Reeves PT, Rogers PL, Hipp SJ, Zanetti RC, Echelmeyer S, Rees DJ, Parekh DS. The Sickle Cell Pain Action Plan: A low health literacy, pictographic tool to enhance self-management, and guideline concordance. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2022 Dec;69(12):e29775. doi: 10.1002/pbc.29775. Epub 2022 May 20. PMID: 35593011.

Vasta LM, Zanetti RC, Parekh DS, Warwick AB, Lieuw K. A Retrospective Review of Mercaptopurine Metabolism Reveals High Rate of Patients With Suboptimal Metabolites Successfully Corrected With Allopurinol. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2021 Oct 1;43(7):e1003-e1009. doi: 10.1097/MPH.0000000000001939. PMID: 32925411.

Parekh, DS and Newton, TC,“Hematology” IN Creamer, KM, and Fuenfer, MF, eds. In: Pediatric Surgery and Medicine for Hostile Environments, 2nd edition; Borden Institute. Washington DC. 2011: Chapter 32.