ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition

Scientific Workshops

The Scientific Workshops are interactive discussions of the latest scientific developments in a particular field of hematology. The following information corresponds to the 2023 workshops expected to take place at the ASH annual meeting. Each workshop will take place on Friday, December 8 in person, and will also be broadcast simultaneously on the virtual platform. 

All are welcome to attend each workshop. There is no additional fee, but ASH annual meeting registration is required.

Note that the information is preliminary and subject to change as the workshop programs get developed.

Table of Contents

Scientific Workshop on Defining Goals and Utilizing Tools for Enhancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in Clinical Trials in Hematology

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chair:

Arushi Khurana, MBBS
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
[email protected]

Clinical trials are an essential component of providing care to patients with hematologic disorders. Representation in clinical trials is particularly important in the context of changing US demographics. This workshop will define the goals for achieving diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) in trials and convene key stakeholders with the objective of fostering collaborations, identifying successful approaches to increasing diversity, and generating tools for evaluation of a representative trial.

Target Audience:

Clinicians, clinical investigators, translational investigators, biostatisticians, pharmacologists, pharmacists, regulators, trial sponsors, patient advocates interested in access to clinical trials, inclusion, development, regulations, and approval.

Objectives:

  • Generate concrete goals regarding representativeness in clinical trials.
  • Identify tools for increasing and appraising DEI.
  • Engage relevant stakeholders for dialogue on planning and executing these goals and tools during trial development.
  • Discuss methods that have been successful and opportunities for continued improvement.

Sessions:

Current State and Anticipated Barriers in Increasing DEI in Hematology Clinical Trials

Setting Realistic Goals for DEI in Hematology Trials

Tools for enhancing DEI in Hematology Trials

Keynote Address: Road map to Increase DEI in Clinical Trials

If you would like to request a speaking slot at this workshop or future workshops, please contact the workshop co-chairs directly.

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Scientific Workshop on Germline Predisposition to Hematopoietic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Failure

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Lucy A. Godley, MD, PhD
Northwestern University
Chicago, IL
[email protected]

Marcin Wlodarski, MD, PhD
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, TN
[email protected]

Deleterious germline variants conferring susceptibility to hematopoietic malignancies (HM) and bone marrow failure (BMF) are now recognized to be more prevalent than previously assumed. Multiple clinical guidelines now recommend assessing for germline predisposition. The identified genes revealed new molecular pathways important for hematopoiesis and tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms by which the gene variants cause HMs and BMF remain elusive.

This workshop will feature new research on preclinical model systems and organisms; the intersection between germline predisposition and lymphoid malignancies, solid tumors, and DNA repair pathways; telomeropathies and somatic rescue; discussions regarding standardizing screening globally based on existing clinical recommendations; and predictive prognostic models. Attendees will gain comprehensive insight into this topic both from a scientific and clinical viewpoint and engage in stimulating discussion and debate.

Target Audience:

International investigators actively studying inherited hematopoietic malignancies/bone marrow failure syndromes, trainees, researchers, and clinicians.

Objectives:

  • Discuss on-going research efforts in specific predisposition syndromes.
  • Strengthen existing and develop new international collaborations in these diseases.
  • Discuss the novel biology of predisposition syndromes.
  • Highlight unique scientific platforms being used to study germline susceptibility syndromes.
  • Discuss the clinical implications of scientific progress in the area of germline predisposition.

Sessions & Moderators:

Preclinical Development of Model Systems and Organisms

Jeffery Klco, MD, PhD
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Memphis, TN
[email protected]

Marta Santiago Balsera
Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe
Valencia, Spain
[email protected]

Special Focus on Telomeropathies and Somatic Rescue

Jason Farrar, MD
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Little Rock, AR
[email protected]

Christopher R. Reilly, MD
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA
[email protected]

Germline Predisposition that Intersects with Lymphoid Malignancies, Solid Tumors, and DNA Repair Pathways

Christopher N. Hahn, PhD
University of South Australia
[email protected]

Grace Christou
The Ottawa Hospital
Ontario, Canada
[email protected]

How Scientific Advances Impact Clinical Predictive Models and Recommendations

María Noel Spangenberg
Hospital de Clinicas
Montevideo, Uruguay
[email protected]

Kirsten Marie Williams, MD
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
[email protected]

If you would like to request a speaking slot at this workshop, please complete the form (see below) and submit it by September 11, 2023, to the Co-chairs of the workshop directly. 

Speaker Request Form

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Scientific Workshop on Hematology and Aging

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Megan Weivoda, PhD
Mayo Clinic, Division of Hematology
Rochester, Minnesota
[email protected]

Ashley Rosko, MD
The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center
Columbus, OH
[email protected]

Hematologic disorders disproportionately affect older adults; despite this, our understanding of the implications of age on the pathogenesis and treatment of these diseases remains limited. The geroscience field is actively investigating clinical markers and scores to aid in distinguishing biological and chronological aging. Biological aging assessments for hematologic disease will be crucial for understanding and appropriately treating aging patients, along with facilitating the translation of emerging new immune therapies, as well as potential microbial and dietary interventions, for aging adults. There is also potential opportunity to target aging mechanisms to treat hematologic diseases.

Target Audience:

Laboratory-based scientists, clinical/translational investigators, and early career investigators with an interest in aging and hematology (malignant and classical).

Objectives:

  • Foster interaction and engagement among aging scientists and investigators conducting research at the interface of hematology and aging.
  • Provide a forum within ASH to advance discussions on novel aging science related to hematologic disorders and implications for translation to clinical practice.
  • Provide opportunities for early career investigators to participate and interact with established leaders in the field of hematology and aging.

Sessions:

Biomarkers of Biological Aging in Hematologic Malignancies

Gauging Response of Bites and CAR-T in Aging Adults

Mechanisms of Microbiome-Immune Cross talk in Hematologic Disorders

Mechanisms by which Cell Stress drives Aging vs Malignant Adaptation

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Scientific Workshop on the Interplay Between Coagulation and Malignancy

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Lisa Baumann Kreuziger, MD
Versiti, Blood Research Institute
Milwaukee, WI
[email protected]

Jeffrey Zwicker, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY
[email protected]

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is the second leading cause of death in patients with cancer and cancer patients are the highest risk group for developing VTE. Despite considerable epidemiologic research, the mechanism of thrombosis in cancer is poorly understood.

This workshop will provide a unique forum to discuss mechanisms of thrombosis in hematologic malignancies, a topic that bridges malignant and classical hematology. Specifically, sessions will address gaps in knowledge and ongoing investigations into mechanisms of thrombosis in myeloproliferative neoplasms and solid tumors. There will also be an exploration of (1) mechanisms of thrombosis in brain tumors and the role that neutrophil extracellular traps play in the development of cancer-associated thrombosis; as well as (2) thrombosis in myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Target Audience:

Junior and senior investigators conducting basic to clinical research and specifically seeking to understand the mechanisms of thrombosis in cancer patients and how thrombosis may influence the progression of cancer.

Objectives:

  • Provide a unique forum to discuss the latest scientific developments in cancer and thrombosis.
  • Enhance current collaborations, develop new collaborations, and provide opportunities for interaction between junior and established investigators in cancer and thrombosis.

Sessions:

Mechanisms of Thrombosis in Brain Tumors

Role of NETs in Cancer Associated Thrombosis

Coagulation Alterations in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

If you would like to request a speaking slot at this workshop for this year or future years, please contact the workshop co-chairs directly.

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Scientific Workshop on Mitochondria and Metabolism in Blood Cancer - From Worms to Patients

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Aaron Schimmer, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Toronto, Canada
[email protected] 

Marina Konopleva, MD, PhD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, NY
[email protected]

A subset of blood cancer cells are under increased mitochondrial stress through mechanisms such as oxidative damage, altered metabolism, hypoxia, mitochondrial protein damage and protein misfolding. Using evolutionary conserved pathways including anti-oxidants, anti-apoptotic pathways, proteases, and protein chaperones, mitochondria have developed mechanisms to survive amidst these stressors.

Target Audience:

Investigators studying mitochondrial stress, pathways and metabolism from model organisms to patients, including cancer biologists and clinical trialists.

Objectives:

  • Gain insights into pathways that defend against mitochondrial stress in model organisms and how these pathways might impact blood cancer cells.
  • Detect targets in mitochondrial stress pathways whose inhibition would preferentially eradicate blood cancer cells.
  • Identify the subset of malignancies and patients that would be most and least likely to respond to induction of mitochondrial stress.

Sessions:

Mitochondrial and metabolism - fundamental discovery and model organisms

Translational Opportunities Targeting Mitochondrial Pathways and Metabolism in Cancer

Mitochondria and metabolism in Blood Cancer Clinical Trials

If you would like to request a speaking slot at this workshop, please reach out to the appropriate session moderator directly.

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Scientific Workshop on Myeloid Development

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Patricia Ernst, PhD
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, CO
[email protected]

Ulrich Steidl, MD, PhD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine - Montefiore Medical Center
[email protected]

The workshop will cover the basic science of myeloid development or pathophysiology and there will be no presentations on clinical/treatment strategies. The research that will be presented will utilize the tools of molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and animal models to address these topics. Talks will feature emerging data from cutting-edge research groups that is expected to have a broad and lasting impact on the field. The workshop is designed to be an interactive discussion of primary data after very brief introductions.

Target Audience:

Laboratory/translational investigators, including trainees, with many interests surrounding normal and pathological myeloid/stem cell biology.

Objectives:

  • Provide a venue for early/mid-career investigators to present their science to the myeloid community.
  • Offer an opportunity for informal discussion and comment on late-breaking science.
  • Provide trainees a chance to hear new science and to meet leaders in our field.
  • Highlight emerging new concepts in myeloid biology that will broadly impact hematology.

Sessions: & Moderators

Signaling and Development

Claudia Lengerke, MD
University Hospital and University of Tuebingen
Tuebingen, Germany
[email protected]

Myeloid Malignancies

Zuzana Tothova, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA
[email protected]

Gene Regulation in Myeloid Differentiation

Kathrin Bernt, MD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
[email protected]

If you would like to request a speaking slot at this workshop, please reach out to the appropriate session moderator directly.

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Scientific Workshop on Diagnostic Techniques in Classical and Malignant Hematology

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Irina Murakhovskaya, MD
Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, NY
[email protected]

Bruno Fattizzo, MD
Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico
Milan, Italy
[email protected]

Piers Blombery, PhD, MBBS
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
[email protected]

Torsten Haferlach, MD, PhD
MLL Munich Leukemia Laboratory
Munich, Germany
[email protected]

Overview:

The ever-changing categorization and increasing biologically driven subcategorization of disease in Classical and Malignant hematological disease demands sophisticated diagnostic tools in order to accurately diagnose and classify disease and improve patient outcomes.

Spanning both molecular and non-molecular approaches, this workshop aims to explore emerging data and concepts around the use of existing and novel diagnostic tools for enhancing diagnosis in Classical and Malignant hematological disease including a focus on advanced testing techniques in immunohematology and transfusion medicine and the expanding role of molecular methodologies.

Target Audience:

This workshop is directed at those that are involved in both the delivery of hematology diagnostics as well as those that receive the results. As such the workshop will have broad appeal to a range of specialties and subspecialities within the ASH community including clinical hematologists, hematopathologists, molecular pathologists, medical laboratory scientists, clinical bioinformaticians/computational biologists, genetic counsellors and basic/translational researchers.

Objectives:

  • Provide an interactive forum to discuss, progress and educate a broad audience around the current state of diagnostics in Classical and Malignant hematology and the translation of novel technologies into routine use for patient care.
  • Demonstrate and showcase a range of approaches from laboratories around the world to provide diagnostic testing including validation of new technologies and development of novel informatic approaches.
  • Consolidate current collaborations as well as encouraging and fostering new interactions and collaborations of those in the field of hematology diagnostics around the world in order to harmonize approaches to mutual challenges in the area.
  • Identify key shared challenges and develop a plan for collaborative solutions and future directions that advance the field of diagnostics in Classical and Malignant hematology.

Sessions:

Diagnostic Testing in Classical Hematologic Disorders

Translational Diagnostic Molecular Tools in Malignant Hematology

If you would like to request a speaking slot at this workshop, please contact the workshop co-chairs directly.

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Scientific Workshop on Therapy Resistance Mechanisms in Blood Malignancies

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Christina Glytsou, PhD
Rutgers University
Piscataway, NJ
[email protected]

Panagiotis Ntziachristos, PhD
Ghent University
Ghent, Belgium
[email protected]

Daniel Starczynowski, PhD
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, OH
[email protected]

Resistance to therapy is an unmet need in the treatment of blood disorders, as mechanisms of resistance are relatively understudied.

The workshop will cover aspects of resistance to therapy in blood disorders, focusing on non-genetic molecular mechanisms such as epigenetic, epitranscriptomic and metabolic aspects and their potential interaction with genetic alteration. Platforms allowing the comparison between diagnosis and relapsed samples, or relapse-promoting mechanisms existing at diagnosis and potential therapeutic intervention will be discussed.

Target Audience:

Basic and translational research-focused investigators from both academia and industry interested in understanding and targeting resistance to therapy. Clinicians treating aggressive leukemias and interested in integrating latest research developments with current frontline therapies such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

Objectives:

  • Foster the understanding of mechanisms of resistance to therapy towards integration of novel targeting approaches into the clinic.
  • Promote collaboration and exchange of technologies and reagents between academic and industrial groups.
  • Consolidate current collaborations as well as encouraging and fostering new interactions and collaborations of those in the field of hematology diagnostics around the world in order to harmonize approaches to mutual challenges in the area.
  • Discuss the role of non-genetic and genetic alterations as well as downstream molecular mechanisms in drug resistance.

Sessions:

Epigenetic and Chromatin Mechanisms

Panagiotis Ntziachristos, PhD
Ghent University
Ghent, Belgium

Post-Transcriptional Mechanisms

Eric Wang, PhD
The Jackson Laboratory/University of Connecticut
Farmington, CT

Translational and Post-Translational Mechanisms

Daniel Starczynowski, PhD
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, OH

Metabolic Mechanisms and Mitochondria Biology

Christina Glytsou, PhD
Rutgers University
Piscataway, NJ

If you would like to request a speaking slot at this workshop for this year or future years, please contact the workshop co-chairs directly.

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Scientific Workshop on Viruses in Hematology: Emerging Challenges and Therapeutic Vulnerabilities

Friday, December 8, 2023, 2:00pm – 5:00pm PT
San Diego, CA

Co-Chairs:

Maher Gandhi, PhD, FRACP, FRCP
Mater Research Institute - University of Queensland
Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
[email protected].

Rayne Rouce, MD, BS
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
[email protected].

Keri Toner, MD
George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Washington, DC
[email protected]

Helen Heslop, MD, DSc
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
[email protected]

The pandemic, along with recent developments in our understanding of the pathogenesis of viral-associated lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs), have sparked renewed interest in the topic of viruses in hematology. Those with transplant induced, inherited, iatrogenic or AIDS related immunosuppression, along with pediatric and elderly populations are at particular risk. Geographic and ethnic differences are marked. As exogenous viruses are relatively well-characterized, they have long represented a promising arena for precision oncology. Advances in cellular therapy, that can potentially be given in combination or in sequence with other novel strategies, has meant that the potential of anti-viral adoptive immunotherapy has started to be realized. With a focus on EBV, CMV, SARS-CoV-2, VZV and BK viruses, the workshop will cover relevant changes to the WHO / ICC hematopoietic classifications, major discoveries and developments in relation to viral biology and immunology; and provide emerging data on autologous and third-party virus-specific T-cells.

Target Audience:

Basic laboratory-based molecular/immunological and viral scientists, Clinicians interested in latest developments, and those with an interest in immunotherapy.

Objectives:

Present on the basic and translational components of EBV lymphoproliferative disorders, CMV, SARS-CoV-2, VZV and BK viruses, EBV lymphoproliferative disorders, highlighting emerging therapeutics and special populations. Provide the audience with an overview of the field and an understanding of where the field is headed.

Highlight speakers who will provide global geographic representation, with an overwhelming emphasis on early and mid-career researchers, that have presented recently published high-impact work.

Sessions & Moderators:

Background to Virally Driven Lymphoproliferative Disorders
Maher Gandhi, PhD, FRACP, FRCP
Mater Research Institute - University of Queensland
Brisbane, Australia

Emerging Vulnerabilities in Special Populations
Rayne Rouce, MD, BS
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX

The Landscape of Viral Reactivation After Transplantation
Helen Heslop, MD, DSc
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX

Anti-Viral Cellular Immunotherapies
Keri Toner, MD
George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Washington, DC

The full workshop program, with speakers will be available at a later date.

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