Douglas B. Cines, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine and former director of the Hematology and Coagulation Laboratory, died on December 7, 2025. He was 78. 

Dr. Cines earned an AB in history  and pre-medicine from New York University in 1968 and an MD, also from NYU, in 1972. After completing his internship and residency at North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he came to Penn in 1975 for a fellowship in hematology/oncology. In 1978, Penn hired him as a lecturer, and a year later, he joined the tenure track as an assistant professor of hematology/oncology and of pathology/laboratory medicine. In 1987 he became an associate professor, and in 1996 he became a full professor of pathology/laboratory medicine. During his time at Penn, Dr. Cines held several leadership positions in pathology/laboratory medicine, including as co-vice chair of the division of laboratory medicine and the school’s vice chair for academics and director of faculty development.

Over a 40-year research career, Dr. Cines became a prolific scientist and a central figure in the field of immune thrombocytopenic disorders. His research expanded scientific understanding and treatment of immune thrombocytopenic purpura, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombosis, antiphospholipid syndrome, and thrombocytopenia in pregnancy. He published more than 340 peer-reviewed scientific articles in prestigious journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Blood, and Journal of Clinical Investigation. Dr. Cines earned the Biennial Award for Contributions to Research in Hemostasis from the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (2017) and the Henry M. Stratton Medal for Basic Science from the American Society of Hematology (2024) and was a member of numerous professional organizations. 

In 1995, Dr. Cines became director of Penn’s Hematology and Coagulation Laboratory, where he had been a faculty member since 1982. He directed the lab for more than 20 years and was instrumental in developing it into a nationally recognized center for coagulation diagnostics, providing comprehensive diagnostic testing and consultative services for physicians who were caring for patients with coagulation disorders. To honor Dr. Cines’s dedication to clinical service and leadership of the lab, the lab has been named the Douglas B. Cines, MD Coagulation Laboratory.

“Dr. Cines served as an educator, mentor, and constant source of wisdom,” said Dr. Cines’s colleague, George J. Netto, the Simon Flexner Professor and Chair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. “He enjoyed teaching and mentoring trainees and was not only eager to share his knowledge, but was also interested in learning from others. Dr. Cines was kind, witty, and dearly revered by his colleagues and staff who had the privilege of working with him. He will be greatly missed.” 

Dr. Cines is survived by his wife, Adele; his four daughters, Val, Pammi, Sarah, and Courtney; and his grandchildren. Donations in Dr. Cines’s memory can be made to the Douglas Cines, MD, Special Coagulation Laboratory Gift Fund at Penn.