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
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
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 third-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 third-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 coagulation, as well as in undergraduate and graduate 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 third-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. She is currently in her third year of fellowship training and chief 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. She is also interested in improving support for underrepresented minority trainees and international medical graduates pursuing an academic career in hematology.
First-Year Council Members
Emily Liang, MD
University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
@emilyliangmd
Dr. Emily Liang graduated from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completed her internal medicine residency at Stanford University. She is currently a second-year hematology/oncology fellow at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Her research interests are in hematologic malignancies, transplantation, and CAR T-cell therapy.
Miriam Agyakomah Osei, MD, MPH, Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Mass General Brigham
Dr. Miriam Osei received her medical degree from Columbia University. She then completed a combined internal medicine and global health residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital. She is currently in her first year of the hematology focused fellowship program at Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Mass General Brigham. Dr. Osei's career and research interests are in sickle cell disease and global hematology. She is also interested in encouraging and supporting trainees from underrepresented minority backgrounds in hematology
Sydney Dunn-Valadez, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Kaitlyn C Dykes, MD, UC San Diego University Hospital
Dr. Kaitlyn Dykes graduated from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia PA, and then completed internal medicine residency at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington DC. She served as chief of the Michael Adams Clinician Educator (MACE) track while in residency. She is currently a second-year Hematology and Oncology fellow at UC San Diego University. She is enrolled in Clinical Research Enhancement through Supplemental Training (CREST) Program, taking master-level classes focused on clinical research. She is broadly interested in malignant hematology and hopes to pursue a career as a clinician educator and clinical researcher.
Henna Butt, MD, Children’s National Hospital
Dr. Henna Butt completed her MD at St. George’s University School of Medicine. She went on to complete her pediatric residency training at the University of Maryland Medical center. Currently, she is a second-year fellow in hematology/oncology at Childrens National Hospital. She will be focusing her research on gene therapy for sickle cell disease patients at the NIH NHLBI. She is interested in curative therapies for hemoglobinopathies and intends to pursue a career in stem cell transplant with a focus in hematology.
Nowah Afangbedji, Ph.D. ,
Stanford University
@NAfangbedji
Dr. Nowah Afangbedji is a postdoctoral scholar in the Porteus lab at Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology Oncology Stem Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine. In his current role, Dr. Afangbedji is optimizing a closed-system gene editing platform to correct the beta-globin gene in sickle cell disease. Dr. Afangbedji completed his Ph.D. at Howard University, where his professional and academic work in the Nekhai lab focused on identifying early biomarkers of kidney disease in sickle cell patients, iron metabolism, and the natural resistance of HIV-1 in sickle cell disease.
William Nicol, MBBS, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
William graduated from The University of Queensland with first class honours and undertook his physician training in rural and metropolitan hospitals throughout Queensland. He is currently a joint clinical and laboratory haematology trainee at the Royal Brisbane and Womens’ Hospital and Pathology Queensland. William is passionate about all aspects of malignant and nonmalignant haematology, with a particular interest in molecular diagnostics, quality improvement and equitable access to healthcare.
Kolton Smith, DO, Lenox Hill Hospital
Dr. Kolton Smith graduated from The University of North Texas/Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2021. He is currently a PGY-3 Internal Medicine Resident at Zucker SOM/Northwell Health at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where he serves as the Treasurer of the House Staff Association as well as resident member of the Lenox Hill Hospital Blood Bank Committee. Dr. Smith’s research thus far has centered on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, with an emphasis on in hospital and post discharge thromboprophylaxis. He is excited to explore the opportunities that the next phase of his medical training career will provide.
Siobhan Laken Branfield, MD, PhD Candidate, Oakland University
@SiobhanBranfie1
Anika Patel, BS, Creighton School of Medicine
@Anika_s_PateL
Anika Patel is a third-year medical student at Creighton School of Medicine. She intends to pursue a physician-scientist career in hematology/oncology, a path that was inspired by her time as a Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Fellow in the Flaumenhaft Lab at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. There, under the tutelage of Dr. Moua Yang, her interest in thrombosis research burgeoned as she evaluated how oxidative stress-induced cysteine modifications of PDI, a prothrombotic enzyme, can function as a redox-sensitive switch that controls protein function. She is excited to continue exploring her research interests and building upon both her medical knowledge and ethnocultural empathy in preparation for a future advocating for her patients’ diverse needs in heme/onc.