James C. Cronk, MD, PhD

I am a physician-scientist with PhD training in neuroimmunology and clinical expertise in pediatric hematology, oncology, and neuro-oncology. I completed the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of Virginia, earning my PhD in neuroscience in 2016 under the mentorship of Dr. Jonathan Kipnis and my MD in 2018. My doctoral research explored the engraftment of peripheral-derived macrophages in the brain for treating neurologic disease, examined functional similarities and differences between microglia and peripheral-derived brain resident macrophages, and investigated the biological conditions that drive macrophage engraftment in the CNS.

From 2018 to 2025, I completed my pediatrics residency and fellowships in pediatric hematology and oncology and neuro-oncology at Johns Hopkins and the NIH. As a clinical fellow at the National Cancer Institute under Dr. Rosandra Kaplan, my work focused on the solid tumor microenvironment and the development of genetically engineered myeloid cell therapies for solid tumors.

In July 2025, I joined Cincinnati Children’s as a pediatric neuro-oncologist and physician-scientist. My laboratory is dedicated to advancing myeloid-based immunotherapies for CNS cancers and developing novel combinatorial immunotherapy regimens to both induce and sustain robust anti-tumor immune responses.