Julia Xu MD, MS, MScGH

Dr. Xu is an adult hematologist and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, specializing in the care of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). She has conducted studies of the trajectory of renal function decline in SCD and led clinical trials evaluating novel drug therapies for the treatment of patients with SCD.

Dr. Xu has a longstanding interest in both red cell disorders and global health, having completed combined internal medicine-global health residency training and a Master of Science in Global Health degree at Duke University. She was awarded a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Clinical Research Fellowship to carry out an epidemiological study of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency in a Dominican HIV clinic, as well as a Fogarty International Center Research Fellowship to study the feasibility of and barriers to thalassemia screening in migrant populations in Thailand.

Dr. Xu’s research focuses on new drug therapies and biomarkers for improving anemia and other chronic complications in SCD. She is dedicated to improving anemia-related outcomes for individuals living with SCD in the US and globally by optimizing treatment strategies for anemia and expanding global access to treatments.