Committee on Scientific Affairs
Committee Roster
Chair
Alisa S. Wolberg, PhD ('26)
Vice Chair
Terry Fry, MD ('26)
Appointed Members
Alexey V. Danilov, MD, PhD ('26)
Jarrod A. Dudakov, PhD ('26)
Michael R. Green, PhD ('26)
Monica L. Guzman, PhD ('29)
Betty K. Hamilton, MD ('29)
Jyoti Nangalia, MBBChir ('28)
Keith B. Neeves, PhD ('26)
Louise Purton, PhD ('26)
Naomi Taylor, MD, PhD ('29)
Jennifer J. Trowbridge, PhD ('29)
Karina Yazdanbakhsh, PhD ('28)
Jeffrey Zwicker, MD ('29)
Ex Officio Members
Cindy E. Dunbar, MD ('27) - President-Elect
Alison Loren, MD, MSCE ('28) - Vice President
Robert Negrin, MD ('26) - President
Liaisons
Carl Allen, MD, PhD ('31) - Blood Advances Associate Editor
Elisabeth Battinelli, MD, PhD ('32) - Blood Associate Editor
Warren Fingrut, MD, MPH ('26) - Committee on Advancing Excellence and Population Health
Jonathan Gerber, MD ('27) - Chair, Subcommittee on Precision Medicine
Aziz Nazha, MD ('27) - Chair, Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence
Stefano Rivella, PhD ('27) - Chair, Subcommittee on Emerging Gene and Cell Therapies
Stephanie V Seremetis, MD ('26) - Chair, Suncommittee on Clinical Trials
Staff Liaison
Kelly Rose, PhD
Committee Mandate
The Committee on Scientific Affairs is responsible for developing strategic priorities in scientific areas of interest to ASH membership. To this end, in concert with the scientific committees, the Committee on Scientific Affairs oversees efforts to update the ASH Agenda for Hematology Research periodically as needed, but at a minimum of every five years. In the interim, the committee advises on the implementation of the scientific priorities identified in the research agenda.
The Committee on Scientific Affairs serves as ASH’s strategically oriented scientific council. The scientific committees and several Special Committees (subcommittees, working groups, and task forces) that report directly to the Committee on Scientific Affairs. As such, the committee reviews proposals for new scientific or special committees; helps coordinate the activities of said committees; and periodically reviews their structure, organization, mandates, and scope (unless otherwise instructed) to identify and address potential gaps or overlaps. In addition, the Committee on Scientific Affairs makes recommendations to the Nominating Committee for scientific committee appointments and the Awards Committee for honorific awards.
Another component of the Committee on Scientific Affairs’ role as a scientific council is to ensure that ASH products and services meet the needs of the research community. The committee serves as a reference for the joint Program Committee and the Scientific Program Co-Chairs by reviewing all scientific sessions of the ASH annual meeting — in general, to make sure the Society is focusing on the most novel and rigorous science and meeting the needs of scientists at the meeting. (The abstract selection process is not a part of this content, as it lies under the purview of the ASH Secretary).
The Committee on Scientific Affairs works with other committees to promote hematology and address advocacy issues related to hematology research, including funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Advocacy activities of the committee are coordinated with the Committee on Government Affairs and they work in concert to effectively represent the interests of hematology researchers to the Congress and Executive Branch agencies concerned with the study of blood and blood-related diseases.
The membership of the Committee on Scientific Affairs includes basic, translational, clinical, and population research scientists and represents diverse areas of hematology and blood research with an even distribution between classical and malignant hematology.
The Committee on Scientific Affairs structure includes a current Blood Associate Editor and Blood Advances Associate Editor as well as a current member of the Committee on Advancing Excellence and Population Health as liaison members. If not already members of the Committee on Scientific Affairs, the chairs of the Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence, the Subcommittee on Clinical Trials, the Subcommittee on Emerging Gene and Cell Therapies, and the Subcommittee on Precision Medicine serve as liaison members.
Members of the Committee on Scientific Affairs are expected to be active and engaged in the committee’s work. This includes attendance at:
- Committee meetings, including an in person meeting in the spring;
- A committee meeting during the ASH annual meeting;
- Additional meetings with members of Congress, the NIH, other federal agencies, and appropriate public, patient, and professional organizations as needed throughout the year.
For example, if ASH receives a request from Congress to explain a hematology-related issue, a Committee on Scientific Affairs member could accompany staff to educate Congressional staff on Capitol Hill. Committee members are also required to participate in the Advocacy Network and in the development of policy statements, comment letters, and other scientific policy-related documents.
The chair of the Committee on Scientific Affairs serves as a liaison member of the Program Committee and is expected to attend the meetings of that committee. Members of the Committee on Scientific Affairs serve as liaison members of the Committee on Government Affairs and Task Force on PhD Careers in Hematology and are expected to attend the meetings of those committees.