Vladimir Kalinichenko MD, PhD
Director for the Phoenix Children’s Research Institute
Vladimir Kalinichenko, MD, PhD, is Director for the Phoenix Children’s Research Institute at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, and professor of Child Health with tenure. Dr. Kalinichenko, internationally renowned for his research in lung development and regeneration, is principal investigator on three R01 NIH-funded research grants and co-investigator on another three R01 grants totaling more than $13.5 million in lifetime funding.
Dr. Kalinichenko has gained global acclaim for his research on the molecular mechanisms responsible for lung development and lung regeneration and his efforts to improve health outcomes for babies with life-threatening respiratory conditions. His lab was one of the first in the world to use stem cells to generate bioengineered lung tissue containing airways, alveoli and vasculature for potential applications in lung regenerative medicine. These technologies are now in different stages of preclinical testing and regulatory approvals for clinical use.
Beyond his work in the lab, Dr. Kalinichenko will collaborate with Phoenix Children’s clinicians on research plans for infants with serious or life-threatening respiratory issues, as the health system expands fetal care and neonatology services across the Valley.
With more than 20 years of experience in the pulmonary field, Dr. Kalinichenko earned his medical degree from Pirogov’s National Medical University in Moscow before completing post-doctoral programs in molecular immunology, developmental biology and molecular genetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine. Most recently, he served as director of the Center for Lung Regenerative Medicine and endowed chair in Regenerative Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s and was a professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine.
Dr. Kalinichenko’s contributions to the medical and scientific communities are significant. With more than 120 original peer-reviewed articles to his name, Dr. Kalinichenko’s work has been featured in Nature Communications, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA and numerous other journals.
He also is the recipient of high-profile awards including the American Heart Association’s Scientist Development Award, the March of Dimes’ Basic Research Award and the American Cancer Society’s Research Scholar Award. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry and is a member of The National Institutes of Health’s Respiratory Integrative Biology and Translational Research study section.