Hematologists from Developing Countries Participate in 2018 ASH Visitor Training Program

(WASHINGTON, November 27, 2018) – The American Society of Hematology (ASH) today announced the names of 22 hematologists and medical professionals from developing countries selected to participate in the 2018 ASH Visitor Training Program (VTP).

Participants will receive up to 12 weeks of specialized hematology training at host institutions in many different parts of the world. After the program, participants will return home to implement their newly acquired skills and knowledge to address a specific need, helping to build hematology capacity and expertise at their respective institutions.

This year’s program includes participants from 10 countries who are training at top institutions in North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Their areas of study range from bone marrow transplantation to hematologic malignancies and the management of sickle cell disease. VTP participants will carry out their training in the clinic or laboratory of an ASH member mentor.

The 2018 Visitor Training Program Participants are:

Recipients	Training Topic
Kay Thwe Aung, MMSc Myanmar	Diagnosis, management, screening and prevention of thalassemia
M. Patricia Da Silva, MD Mozambique	Laboratory diagnosis and management of patients with bleeding and thrombotic disorders
Eman Farrag, MSc, MBBS, MBA Egypt	Diagnosis and management of bleeding and clotting disorders
Shalini Goel, MD, MBBS India	Training in MDS diagnoses and management of MDS patients
Jawad Hassan, FCPS, MBBS Pakistan	Clinical cytogenetics and hematologic malignancies training
Fady Hennawy, MBBChir, MSc Egypt	Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Tanzeel Imran, MBBS Pakistan	Hemoglobinopathies (thalassemia and sickle cell anemia)
Md Minul Islam, BSc Bangladesh	Flow cytometry and molecular biology
Mahesh Kumar, FCPS, MBBS Pakistan	Training in conventional karyotyping
Mohammed Mabed, MD, PhD Egypt	Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Mujittaba Mashi, MBBS Nigeria	Training in proper blood screening using refrigerated centrifuge
Nouran Momen, MD Egypt	Diagnosis and monitoring of MRDs
Shano Naseem, MD, MBBS India	Training in performance and interpretation of Sanger Sequencing and NGS tests for AML
Esther Obi, MBBS Nigeria	Training in bleeding and coagulation disorders
Nishadya Ranasinghe, FRCPA Sri Lanka	Processing and staining techniques of trephine biopsies with H&E stains, and reporting on immunohistochemistry
Ranjit Sahoo, MD, DM, MBBS India	Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Niharika Shah, MD Nepal	Flow cytometry
Md Salahuddin Shah, FCPS Bangladesh	Flow cytometry
Muhammad Shariq Shaikh, FCPS, MBBS Pakistan	Flow cytometry
Talal Abu Shawfah, MBBChir Libya	Training on diagnostic techniques and hemoglobinopathies
Shinto Thekkudan, MD, DM India	Stem cell transplantation and managing alternate donor transplant patients
Umar Zahur, FCPS, MBBS Pakistan	Stem cell transplantation, focusing on post-transplant complications including infections, VOD, and GvHD

The American Society of Hematology (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