Meet the Trainee Council

Since 2001, the Trainee Council has provided a forum for hematology fellows to discuss issues relevant to fellowship training and career development and provides suggestions regarding programs that may increase interest in hematology. The council projects include Hematopoiesis, Ash-a-Palooza and other trainee activities at the ASH annual meeting, Grants Clearinghouse, ASH Hematology Career Planner, and more.

The Trainee Council consists of MD, MD, PhD, and PhD trainees from across North America. The council is governed by a chair who is elected by the members of the council and each council member serves a two-year term.

New in 2023: The council will expand to include four new positions:

• Medical student
• PhD student in a hematology laboratory
• Resident (MD, DO, MD/PhD enrolled in a duly accredited residency program related to internal medicine that may lead to hematology-related practice)
• A clinical or post-doctoral fellow from outside of North America

Fellows are invited to apply for a position on the Trainee Council at the top of each year. Trainees who exhibit leadership qualities and a high potential for a successful career in hematology or a hematology-related discipline are the best fit.

Second-Year Council Members

Daria Gaut, MD, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine
@DrDariaGaut 

Dr. Daria Gaut earned her medical degree and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of California Los Angeles, where she is currently a third-year hematology/oncology fellow. Her clinical and research interests are in hematologic malignancies, bone marrow transplant, and cellular therapy. She will be pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical Research during her fellowship years at the University of California Los Angeles. She is also participating in the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) with a project targeting measurable residual disease in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Xu Han, MD, PhD, Case Western Reserve University

Dr. Xu Han is a post-doctoral structural biologist who has a strong interest in the molecular dynamics and signaling of the platelet GPCRs. She received her PhD in the Department of Pharmacology from the Case Western Reserve University. Her PhD studies focused on uncovering the activation mechanism of a thrombin receptor, protease-activated receptor 4 (PAR4), and determining the regions on the receptor that are critical for platelet function. She then continued her post-doctoral training co-mentored by Drs. Marvin Nieman and Jason Mears, where she studies how the crosstalk between the GPCRs PAR4 and P2Y12 impact platelet function and physiology.

Ann Mojica, MD, University of Utah, Primary Children’s Hospital

Dr. Ann Marie Mojica graduated from Texas A&M University College of Medicine and completed her residency in pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in San Antonio, TX. She is currently a third-year fellow in pediatric hematology/oncology at University of Utah, Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT. Dr. Mojica is interested in pursuing research related to vascular anomalies.

Alexandra Rezazadeh, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin
@a_razzle

Dr. Alexandra Rezazadeh received her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and then went on to complete internal medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is currently a third-year Hematology and Oncology fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin, with broad-ranging clinical and research interests in both lymphoma as well as health disparities in adult cancer patients.

Eric Vick, MD, PhD, University of Cincinnati
@NODlike

Dr. Eric Vick received his PhD in Molecular Biosciences from Middle Tennessee State University in 2014, where he studied inflammation caused by Gardnerella vaginalis. He then received his MD from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2018. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati through the Physician Scientist Training Program. He is currently in his third year of Adult Hematology and Oncology Fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Vick will pursue a post-doctoral research fellowship as part of the Physician Scientist Training Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center investigating the molecular mechanisms which lead to myelodysplastic syndrome. His research interests include inflammation in the bone marrow microenvironment, innate immunology in myelodysplasia, and translational therapeutics.

First-Year Council Members

Maya Abdallah, MD, Boston University School of Medicine/ Boston Medical Center
@MayaAbdallah_MD 

Dr. Maya Abdallah received her medical degree from the University of Balamand, Lebanon. She then completed internal medicine residency and a chief resident year at UMass Medical School - Baystate. She is currently in her third year of a combined Geriatrics, Hematology, Oncology Fellowship at Boston University. Dr. Abdallah is interested in medical education, clinical innovations, and dissemination and implementation research, with the goal of improving the care of older adults with hematologic malignancies. 

Oladipo Cole, MD, MBA, Washington University 

Dr. Oladipo Cole received his medical degree from Saint Matthew’s University School of Medicine concurrently with a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in healthcare administration. After graduation, he completed a one-year NIH-sponsored post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago studying the unaffiliated Sickle cell patients as part of the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium. He completed his internal medicine residency at Florida Atlantic University. He is currently a second-year Adult Hematology/Oncology fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Cole’s career interest is focused on benign hematologic diseases with a keen research interest in Sickle Cell Disease. 

Jennifer Cooperrider, MD, The University of Chicago 

Dr. Jennifer Cooperrider graduated from Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Chicago, where she also completed her chief residency. She is currently a second-year hematology/oncology fellow at the University of Chicago. She is a previous recipient of the ASH HONORS award, with which she investigated potential targets for immunotherapy after autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma. Dr. Cooperrider is now pursuing a career as a clinical researcher, studying maintenance therapy after stem cell transplant and immunotherapy in hematologic malignancies.  

Ronak Mistry, DO, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
@ rmistry91 

 Dr. Ronak Mistry is a 2017 graduate of Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine residency training at Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also served as a Chief Resident. He is currently a second-year fellow in hematology/oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He intends to pursue a career in non-malignant/classical hematology, with a focus on thrombosis and patient blood management, as well as in undergraduate medical education. 

Madeline Niederkorn, PhD, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
@Maddie_Science 

Dr. Madeline Niederkorn completed her PhD in Cancer & Cell Biology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Currently, she is a second-year postdoctoral fellow in hematology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dr. Niederkorn’s research focuses on the molecular basis of oncogenic transformation and the cellular response to chemotherapy in myelodysplastic syndromes and pediatric leukemias. She is studying the activity of ubiquitin-editing enzymes in these processes with the goal of identifying therapeutic targets. 

Jessica Stempel, MD, Yale New Haven Hospital
@JMStempel 

Dr. Jessica Stempel graduated from the Universidad Central de Venezuela and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, where she also served as Chief Resident. Dr. Stempel stayed on as an academic hospitalist for two years and became passionate about mentorship. She is currently a second-year fellow in hematology/oncology at Yale New Haven Hospital/Smilow Cancer Center. Dr. Stempel is interested in pursuing a career in academic hematology with a focus in myeloid malignancies and bone marrow failure syndromes, and outcomes research. She is also interested in improving support for underrepresented minority trainees and international medical graduates pursuing a career in academic hematology.