For much of modern medicine, sickle cell disorder has been managed rather than transformed. Care pathways have focused on crisis response, symptom control, and complication prevention, while curative approaches remained largely theoretical. That balance is now beginning to change. Advances in clinical research, long-term data generation, and translational science are expanding what is possible, and in doing so, reshaping how the future of sickle cell care is understood.
It is within this context that Sanius Health is proud to present the Top 80 Most Influential People and Advocates in Sickle Cell Research 2026, to be published on 19 January 2026. This year’s edition reflects a field in motion, recognising individuals whose sustained contributions continue to shape research, care, and understanding at a pivotal moment.
Progress in sickle cell disorder has always been shaped by long timelines. Advances emerge slowly, often built on years or decades of work before their impact becomes visible. In recent years, however, that pace has begun to shift. Developments that once felt distant or incremental are now taking clearer form across research, clinical care, and health systems, bringing renewed attention to what the next phase of progress in sickle cell disorder may hold.
One of the defining features of this moment is the transition toward advanced and gene-based therapies. What is now entering clinical practice is the result of decades of foundational research, careful trial design, and rigorous follow-up. Progress has not been driven by a single breakthrough, but by cumulative evidence demonstrating sustained biological effect and growing confidence in safety, durability, and patient selection. As these therapies move closer to routine use, attention has increasingly turned to the systems required to support them, from informed consent and long-term monitoring to equitable access and continuity of care.
Alongside therapeutic innovation, there has been a broader shift in how success in sickle cell research is understood. Clinical outcomes remain essential, but they are no longer sufficient on their own. Lived experience, quality of life, and the realities of navigating education, work, relationships, and long-term health are increasingly shaping research priorities and future care models. Progress is being measured not only in laboratories and clinics, but in everyday life.
This evolving landscape also sits within a wider policy context. In England, the NHS 10-Year Health Plan outlines ambitions around health equity, innovation, and genomic medicine that closely align with long-standing priorities in sickle cell care. While the condition is not named explicitly, the implications are significant. The challenge lies in ensuring that these ambitions translate into consistent, accountable improvements for communities who have historically experienced delayed diagnosis, unequal access, and variable standards of care.
The individuals shaping this period of change span foundational science, clinical research, service design, policy influence, and patient advocacy. Their work reflects a growing understanding that progress in sickle cell disorder depends on connection between research and practice, between systems and communities, and between scientific advancement as well as lived experience.
The Top 80 does not mark a conclusion or an endpoint. It captures a moment of alignment, where long-term scientific effort, expanding clinical capability, and renewed system-level attention are beginning to converge, while acknowledging the work still required to ensure progress is durable, equitable, and rooted in real-world impact.
The full list of the Top80 will be published later this month, reflecting a moment where long-term effort, emerging capability, and lived insight are increasingly coming into alignment.
For more information about our work in sickle cell, please get in touch with us on hello@saniushealth.com
