Leaders in Blood Science: Dr. Tamara Dunn

Dr. Tamara Dunn is a Clinical Associate Professor of Hematology at the Stanford School of Medicine, Associate Chair of Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine, and a practicing hematologist at the Palo Alto VA. In this conversation, she shares insights into her clinical work, her passion for mentoring the next generation of medical professionals, and her commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in medicine. We’re honored to feature her perspective and learn more about her journey and the impact she’s making in the field of hematology.

Listen to the full interview:

Interview conducted by Julie Peachey, Stanford Blood Center’s PR Officer, on February 24. 2025.

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Julie Peachey: Today we’re speaking with Dr. Tamara Dunn who is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology at the Stanford School of Medicine. She’s also one of the Associate Chairs of Diversity and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine, as well as a hematologist at the Palo Alto VA. Thank you so much, Dr. Dunn, for taking the time to speak with me today.

Dr. Tamara Dunn: Thank you for having me.

Julie: As a leader in hematology and medical education and DEI-A initiatives, your work has had a meaningful impact on both patients and the next generation of medical professionals. We’re excited to learn more about your journey and your insights on diversity in the field and contributions of Black professionals to blood sciences.

To start, could you share a little bit about your current work and what excites you most in the field of hematology?

Dr. Dunn: Sure thing. I am a general hematologist at the Palo Alto VA and in that role I’m able to serve veterans who are by definition an underserved population. I have a lot of diversity in my practice which I truly appreciate, and I’ve loved over the years, seeing how they’ve benefited from the emerging therapies that are in our field in general.

I treat classical hematology as well as malignant hematology, and some of the more emerging therapies, we’ve seen more in malignancies, and I just feel so honored to be able to serve these veterans and to provide some of the emerging therapies out there.

I think the thing that we’ve seen truly change has been the longevity that people can have with diseases that many years ago would have taken their lives in a much shorter time. Diseases like multiple myeloma, for instance, have really turned into chronic diseases. And so we have the opportunity to establish very deep and meaningful relationships with our patients over a very long period of time. That ties into the new therapies that we’re able to provide and that’s just really taken the field forward. It’s been a joy to have those connections and to provide that service for veterans.

Julie: Absolutely. And Black professionals have played a powerful role in shaping the blood sciences. Is there any historical or contemporary figure whose contributions you find especially inspiring?

Dr. Dunn: We have a faculty member at Stanford, Dr. Melody Smith, who joined our faculty about three years ago and she is an amazing scientist in the BMT division, and is doing a lot of work in engineering CAR-T cells to make that therapy even more efficacious for people.

Julie: Okay, great. Thank you for that. As a leader in medical education and DEI-A initiatives, what progress have you seen in increasing diversity in hematology, and are there still challenges that need to be addressed?

Dr. Dunn: Certainly. Well, I’m fortunate to be a part of the American Society of Hematology, which is our national professional society, and that society specifically has been at the forefront of diversity inclusion for many, many years. There was a Minority Recruitment Initiative that started probably five years ago or more, and it had the sole purpose of trying to recruit underrepresented in medicine folks into hematology. It comes in the form of creating awards that are specifically for underrepresented folks and matching them with mentors and highlighting them at the annual meeting, really giving them an opportunity to be introduced to the research world and introduced to the field of hematology. You don’t need any sort of prerequisites of having research experience, and it’s really an opportunity for people to have exposure to the field to see if it’s something that they’re interested in in the future.

Also, in our society, there’s really been a huge emphasis on health equity. And it’s been beautiful to see folks actually discussing disparities and what we can do about them in hematology, and that transcends race and language proficiency, immigrant status, etc.

Julie: And building on that, for young Black students or professionals looking to enter hematology or medicine, what advice would you give them?

Dr. Dunn: I would say, don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do it, for whatever reason. I think unfortunately, a lot of people from more disadvantaged backgrounds get told they should not be on this path to medicine, going back to high school. I’ve talked to a lot of high schoolers who have been discouraged from even college, or when they’re in college, they’re discouraged from pursuing medicine, for whatever reason. Oftentimes that reason is bias, actually. But I think that has impacted how these young folks feel about themselves and their abilities. I just want to reiterate that they can do it. There is a path for everyone.

I think my biggest piece of advice is there’s no one way to achieve your goals. I had a path that was very circuitous to medicine, even though I always wanted to be a physician, and was surrounded by other Black physicians who I could look up to. I know that’s not the case for everyone, so I recognize my privilege there. But I changed my major in college, and wanted to pursue the arts for some time, and so took some time off between undergrad and medical school and changed my major and ended up doing a post-bac. So, I found it really rewarding to talk to students especially, who have slightly different paths. The path less traveled, shall we say. And just try to inspire them. The other piece of advice I would say is, please don’t let any one score or test or mistake define you because I am a true believer in the power of growth and learning, and mistakes, as growth opportunities.

Julie: Yes, very good advice. Thank you for that. Really interesting to hear your background. You mentioned another doctor that I would like to reach out to at some point. Is there anyone else in your department or broader network that you would recommend we connect with?

Dr. Dunn: I do know someone that would be fabulous because she knows a lot more about what advances are being made in sickle cell. I’ll tell you one thing about sickle cell anemia is there have been tremendous advances in that field, not only with people looking at the whole patient, and actually acknowledging the racism that they have encountered in the healthcare system, but also for the disease itself. Treatments have improved and people are doing gene therapy, and we have a much better idea of how to have comprehensive sickle cell centers to help these patients navigate a very complex and sometimes very unwelcoming healthcare system, to be honest. So, all that being said, Dr. Bimpe Adesina is an incredible colleague of mine. She’s at UC Davis and she was a fellow at Stanford just after I was.

Julie: Well, thank you. Is there anything else that you’d like to include before we end today?

Dr. Dunn: Well, one thing that I take to heart, and I take pride in was my role in training the next generation of hematologists and oncologists. And as I told you, I was a program director for about seven years and what I noticed was that I inspired a lot of people even if you didn’t come to Stanford, or I met them at the annual meeting. They were inspired just seeing me in my position and to have a Black woman as a program director in this subspecialty was really rewarding and meaningful, and I was glad that we were able to recruit some underrepresented folks to our program as well, and I’m really proud of that.

Julie: Dr. Dunn, this has been such a great conversation. Thank you so much for sharing your journey and all the incredible work you’re doing and I look forward to seeing your further impact in the field.