Dr. James Casella is a professor of pediatrics and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. As the Johns Hopkins’ Rainey Professor of Pediatric Hematology, Dr. Casella is chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology at Johns Hopkins Children's and director of the Basic and Translational Research Program in Sickle Cell Disease, Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center and the Maryland Hemophilia Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins.

He supervises several labs investigating the cellular and molecular basis of pediatric blood-borne diseases. He is seeking to develop better treatments for sickle cell disease and the prevention of central nervous system complications of this disorder, including stroke.

Dr. Casella received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Union College. He earned his M.D. from SUNY of Syracuse and completed a residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was subsequently a fellow in hematology/oncology. He has been a member of the Johns Hopkins’ faculty since 1983.

A research scientist as well as a clinician, he co-directs the hematology/oncology fellowship program at Johns Hopkins Hospital and is an adjunct senior investigator (Pediatric Oncology Branch) in the Division of Clinical Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. He is also director of the NHLBI-funded K12 in benign hematology program at Johns Hopkins that trains young clinician/investigators in benign hematology and transfusion medicine.

Dr. Casella has served on numerous university, hospital, and advisory committees, many geared toward hematology, pediatrics and transfusion. He has received many awards from the Johns Hopkins Hospital, including the Alexander "Buck" Schaffer Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Teaching of House Officers. He and a colleague created the Johns Hopkins/St. Agnes Comprehensive Hemophilia Clinic to improve care for patients with the disease.