American Society of Hematology Selects Five Resident Physicians for Minority Resident Hematology Award Program
(WASHINGTON, October 2, 2018) – The American Society of Hematology (ASH) today announced the names of five resident physicians selected to take part in the 2018 ASH Minority Resident Hematology Award Program (MRHAP). This program is designed to provide support for underrepresented minority residents to conduct hematology-focused research with the intended outcome of increasing interest in hematology research and choice of fellowship.
Program participants will receive a total support amount of $7,000, which will help cover their research projects and travel expenses to the 60th ASH Annual Meeting in December, where they will present the results of their projects at the Promoting Minorities in Hematology Reception. In addition, each resident is paired with two ASH mentors: A research mentor who will oversee the research project and a career-development mentor who will guide the participant throughout his or her MRHAP experience and beyond. They will also receive complimentary ASH membership throughout residency.
The MRHAP is one of four programs under ASH’s Minority Recruitment Initiative, a series of programs committed to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities training in hematology-related fields and the number of minority hematologists with academic and research appointments.
The 2018 MRHAP participants and their research topics include:
| Recipient | Project Title | Research Mentor | Career-Development Mentor |
|
Jesse Cobell, MD |
Intrapatient molecular heterogeneity in lymphoma | Javier Munoz, MD, MS Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center Gilbert, AZ |
Leon Bernal-Mizrachi, MD Emory Winship Cancer Institute Atlanta, GA |
| Omayra Gonzalez Pagan, MD, PhD UT Houston - McGovern Medical School Houston, TX |
The effect of platelets on complement activation and cancer cell proliferation |
Vahid Afshar-Kharghan, MD |
Modupe Idowu, MD UT Houston - McGovern Medical School Houston, TX |
| Ismanie Guillaume, MD Christiana Care Health System Wilmington, DE |
Identifying disparities in primary and secondary stroke prevention between pediatric and adult sickle cell populations |
Kim Smith-Whitley, MD |
Deepika Darbari, MD Children’s National Health System Washington, DC |
| Olubusola Oluwole, MD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh, PA |
Impact of hydroxyurea use on cognitive performance of Ghanaian children with sickle cell disease | Enrico Novelli, MD, MS University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Pittsburgh, PA |
Amma Owusu-Ansah, MD, MBBS Vascular Medicine Institute Pittsburgh, PA |
| Elisa Quiroz, MD Beaumont Health Royal Oak, MI |
Variations in microRNA expression in Latin American patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia |
Dan Douer, MD |
Ivan Maillard, MD, PhD University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI |
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) (www.hematology.org) is the world’s largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. ASH publishes Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online. In 2016, ASH launched Blood Advances (www.bloodadvances.org), an online, peer-reviewed open-access journal.
CONTACT:
Sara Khalaf, American Society of Hematology
skhalaf@hematology.org; 202-552-4925