Dr. Nikiforow is currently an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School with the Stem Cell Transplant Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Medical Director of the Cell Manipulation Core Facility (CMCF), and Technical Director of DFCI’s Immune Effector Cell Program.  Dr. Nikiforow earned her MD and a PhD in Immunobiology at Yale University working on the differential roles of CD4 and CD8 T cells in immune control over Epstein-Barr virus-induced B-cell transformation.

Dr. Nikiforow has pursued a translational research career focusing on immune reconstitution after stem cell transplant and therapeutic use of adoptive cellular products.  Through the CMCF and as Principal Investigator of Phase I and II clinical trials, she is working to bring cellular therapies such as chimeric antigen-receptor T cells, genetically-modified stem cells, and regulatory T-cell infusions into the clinic at Dana-Farber.  Her work with the International Society of Cellular Therapy, the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy and the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research have promoted education and set standards for safe implementation of new approaches within the broader and ever-growing cellular therapy field.