Committee on Scientific Affairs
Committee Roster
Chair
Alisa
S. Wolberg, PhD
('24)
Appointed Members
Elisabeth Battinelli, MD, PhD
('25)
Alexey
V. Danilov, MD, PhD
('26)
Mark
A. Dawson, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FRCPA
('25)
Jarrod
A. Dudakov, PhD
('26)
Terry Fry, MD
('25)
Michael
R. Green, PhD
('26)
Selina Luger, MD, FRCPC
('24)
Alan
E. Mast, MD, PhD
('25)
Keith
B. Neeves, PhD
('26)
Louise Purton, PhD
('26)
Naomi Taylor, MD
('25)
Karina Yazdanbakhsh, PhD
('24)
Ex Officio Members
Belinda Avalos, MD
('25)
-
Mohandas Narla, DSc
('24)
-
Robert Negrin, MD
('26)
-
Liaisons
Warren Fingrut, MD
('26)
-
Berthold Gottgens, PhD
('27)
-
Aziz Nazha, MD
('25)
-
Grzegorz
S. Nowakowski, MD
('24)
-
Katy Rezvani, MD
('24)
-
Akiko Shimamura, MD
('24)
-
Wendy Stock, MD
('24)
-
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 every three 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. As such, the committee reviews proposals for new scientific committees; helps coordinate the activities of the scientific committees; and reviews the structure, organization, and scope of these committees every three years (unless otherwise instructed) to assess possible gaps or overlaps. Another component of the committee’s role as a scientific council is to ensure that ASH products and services meet the needs of scientists. The committee serves as a reference for the joint Program Committee and the Scientific Program Co-Chairs by reviewing the Scientific Program of the ASH annual meeting — in general, to make sure the society is focusing on the most cutting-edge science and meeting the needs of scientists at the meeting. In addition, the Committee on Scientific Affairs makes recommendations to the Nominating Committee for scientific committee appointments and the Awards Committee for honorific awards.
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 approved by the ASH Executive Committee. The Committee on Government Affairs and the Committee on Scientific Affairs 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, and clinical scientists and represents diverse areas of hematology and blood research with an even distribution between classic 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 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 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 attend committee meetings, including a two-day meeting involving Capitol Hill or NIH visits in the spring; a meeting during the ASH annual meeting; and other occasional 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 member could accompany staff to educate Congressional staff on Capitol Hill. Committee members are required to participate in conference calls. Committee members are also required to participate in the Grassroots Network and in the development of policy statements, comment letters, and other scientific policy-related documents.
Members of the Committee on Scientific Affairs serve as liaison members of the Committee on Government Affairs, Awards Review Subcommittee, and Task Force on PhD Careers in Hematology and are expected to attend the meetings of those committees. The chair of the Committee on Scientific Affairs serves as a liaison member of the joint Program Committee and is expected to attend the meetings of that committee.
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