Dr. Aaron D. Schimmer
Dr. Aaron D. Schimmer
Contact
Dr. Aaron D. Schimmer
President and Scientific Director

aschimmer@oicr.on.ca

President and Scientific Director

Dr. Schimmer’s clinical practice is focused on treating patients with acute leukemia and related disorders. His laboratory research focuses on developing new therapeutic strategies for leukemia by targeting dysregulated mitochondrial pathways in leukemia stem cells. Dr. Schimmer is the author of more than 320 publications with over 27,000 citations and is an inventor on more than 20 patent applications.

The Schimmer Lab is interested in developing new therapeutic strategies for AML (acute myeloid leukemia) that effectively target leukemic stem cells. Using genetic and chemical approaches, including high throughput screens, we identify biological vulnerabilities in the AML cells and stem cells with a focus on mitochondrial and metabolic pathways. Through these efforts, we discover new biological pathways important for the growth and viability of AML and highlight new therapeutic approaches for this disease.

Experience & Education
  • Director of Research, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network 
  • President, Canadian Hematology Society 
  • MD, University of Toronto
  • PhD, Molecular Biology, University of Toronto
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Burnham Institute, San Diego
Current Affiliations
  • President and Scientific Director, OICR
  • Senior Scientist and Staff Physician, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network
  • Professor, Departments of Medicine and Medical Biophysics and the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto
Select Publications

Visit Dr. Schimmer’s PubMed page

Skrtic M, Sriskanthadevan S, Jhas B, Gebbia M, Wang X, Wang Z, Hurren R, Jitkova Y, Gronda M, Maclean N, Lai CK, Eberhard Y, Bartoszko J, Spagnuolo P, Rutledge AC, Datti A, Ketela T, Moffat J, Robinson BH, Cameron JH, Wrana J, Eaves CJ, Minden MD, Wang JC, Dick JE, Humphries K, Nislow C, Giaever G, Schimmer AD. Inhibition of mitochondrial translation as a therapeutic strategy for human acute myeloid leukemia. Cancer Cell. 2011;20:674-88. PMID: 22094260

Cole A, Wang Z, Coyaud E, Voisin V, Gronda M, Jitkova Y, Mattson R, Hurren R, Babovic S, Maclean N, Restall I, Wang X, Jeyaraju DV, Sukhai MA, Prabha S, Bashir S, Ramakrishnan A, Leung E, Qia YH, Zhang N, Combes KR, Ketela T, Lin F, Houry WA, Aman A, Al-Awar R, Zheng W, Wienholds E, Xu CJ, Dick J, Wang JC, Moffat J, Minden MD, Eaves CJ, Bader GD, Hao Z, Kornblau SM, Raught B, Schimmer AD. Inhibition of the Mitochondrial Protease ClpP as a Therapeutic Strategy for Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancer Cell. 2015;27:864-76. PMID: 26058080

Ishizawa J *,Zarabi SF *, Davis RE,  Halgas O, Nii T, Jitkova Y, Zhao R, St-Germain J,  Heese LE, Egan G, Ruvolo VR, Barghout SH, Nishida Y, Hurren R,Ma W, Gronda M, Link T,  Wong K, Mabanglo M, Kojima K, Borthakur G, MacLean N, Man Chun Ma J, Leber AB, Minden M, Houry W, Kantarjian H, Stogniew M, Raught B, Pai EF,  Schimmer AD&, Andreeff M& Mitochondrial ClpP-mediated proteolysis induces selective cancer cell lethality. Cancer Cell 2019;35:721-37 * and & Equal contribution (Schimmer and Andreeff are co-corresponding and senior authors). PMID: 31056398

Lee J, Khan DH, Hurren R, Xu M, Na Y, Kang H, Mirali S, Wang X, Gronda MV, Jitkova Y, MacLean N, Arruda A, Alaniz Z, Konopleva MY, Andreeff M, Minden MD, Zhang L, Schimmer AD.    Venetoclax enhances T cell-mediated anti-leukemic activity by increasing ROS production. Blood. 2021:;138(3):234-245. PMID: 34292323

Thomas GE, Egan G, García-Prat L, Botham A, Voisin V, Patel PS, Hoff FW, Chin J, Nachmias B, Kaufmann KB, Khan DH, Hurren R, Wang X, Gronda M, MacLean N, O’Brien C, Singh RP, Jones CL, Harding SM, Raught B, Arruda A, Minden MD, Bader GD, Hakem R, Kornblau S, Dick JE, Schimmer AD. The metabolic enzyme hexokinase 2 localizes to the nucleus in AML and normal haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to maintain stemness. Nat Cell Biol. 2022 Jun;24(6):872-884. PMID: 35618834

Awards
  • Elected Member, Association of American Physicians (AAP) (2026 )
  • CSMB Canadian Science Publishing Senior Investigator Award (2025)
  • Named Fellow Royal Society of Canada (2023)
  • Norman Rosenblum Award Excellence in Mentorship MD/PhD Program, University of Toronto (2021)
  • Elected Fellow of Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2021)
  • Harrington Scholar Innovator (2021)
  • Paper of the Year, Canadian Hematology Society (2019)
  • Eaton Scholar, Basic Research, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto (2018)
  • Elected to membership in the American Society of Clinical Investigation (2017)
  • Young investigator award, Canadian Cancer Society (2013)
  • Till and McCulloch award for stem cell research, Canadian Stem Cell Network (2012)
  • Inventor of the year, University Health Network (2012)
  • Named Scholar in Clinical Research, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (2008)
  • Gold Medal in Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (2008)
  • Named Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2007)
  • Early Researcher Award – Ministry of Research and Innovation, Province of Ontario (2006)
Opportunities to Collaborate

Dr. Schimmer welcomes opportunities for collaboration in leukemia research, especially into mitochondria and metabolism as they relate to the disease.

In the News
Q&A with Dr. Aaron Schimmer, OICR’s President and Scientific Director
Q&A with Dr. Aaron Schimmer, OICR’s President and Scientific Director
Sep 30, 2026