ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition

Special Interest Sessions

Special Interest sessions provide the opportunity for ASH’s various communities to focus on specific topics of interest, ranging from coping with physician stress and burnout, to counseling fellows on careers in hematology, to the impact of ASH’s international outreach programs.

Unless otherwise noted, all sessions will take place in person and stream simultaneously on the virtual platform. Session recordings will be available on demand on the virtual platform.

ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines (Updated) on Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in Older Adults

In this session, speakers will highlight recommendations from the updated ASH guidelines on AML in older adults and will discuss important considerations for the application of the recommendations in practice. 

Chairs:

Mikkael Sekeres
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami
Miami, Florida, United States

Mikkael Sekeres
University of Miami
Miami, Florida, United States

Speakers:

Kah Poh (Melissa) Loh
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, New York, United States
Treatment Options for Older Adults with AML: Recommendations on Low-Dose Cytarabine, Azacitidine, and Decitabine Regimens as Monotherapy or Combinations

Luca Malcovati
University of Pavia & IRCCS S. Matteo Hospital Foundation
Pavia, PV, Italy
Treatment Options for Older Adults with AML and IDH1/IDH2 Mutations: Recommendations on HMA Monotherapy, Combinations with Venetoclax, and Targeted Therapies

Maria Baer
University of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Recommendations for Treatment for Older Adults with AML and FLT3 Mutations

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ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines (Updated) on Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP) in Adults

In this session, speakers will highlight recommendations from an upcoming revision to the ASH ITP guidelines focused on second-line therapies. Speakers will also discuss important considerations for the application of the recommendations in practice

Chair:

Doug Cines
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Speakers:

Sylvain AUDIA
University of Bourgogne/Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
DIJON, France
Should adults with primary ITP requiring initial treatment receive steroids alone or steroids in combination with an additional agent? Recommendations from the ASH Guidelines

Camila Masias
Florida International University
Miami, Florida, United States
What treatment should be given to adults with primary ITP who require therapy beyond steroids? Recommendations from the ASH Guidelines

Camila Masias
Miami Cancer Institute
Miami, Florida, United States
What treatment should be given to adults with primary ITP who require therapy beyond steroids? Recommendations from the ASH Guidelines

Donald Arnold
McMaster University
Hamilton, ON, Canada
Considerations on the Role of Splenectomy and Switching TPOs After Treatment Failure

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ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Aplastic Anemia

In this session, speakers will highlight recommendations from the 2025 ASH guidelines on aplastic anemia and will discuss important considerations for the application of the recommendations in practice. 

Chair:

Phillip Scheinberg
Hospital A Beneficencia Portuguesa
Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Speakers:

Austin Kulasekararaj
King's College Hospital
London, ENG, United Kingdom
Recommendations for Diagnosis of Aplastic Anemia

Austin Kulasekararaj
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
London, London, United Kingdom
Recommendations for Diagnosis of Aplastic Anemia

Emma Groarke
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Recommendations for IST and medical management of Aplastic Anemia

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ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Diagnosis of Iron Deficiency with and without Anemia

In this session, speakers will highlight recommendations from the upcoming ASH guidelines on diagnosis of iron deficiency and will discuss important considerations for the application of the recommendations in practice. 

Chairs:

Jacquelyn Powers
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States

Jacquelyn Powers
Texas Children's Hematology Center
Houston, Texas, United States

Speakers:

Imo Akpan
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
New York, New York, United States
Ferritin, TSAT, and how low is too low: Diagnosis of iron deficiency in adults

Michelle Sholzberg
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON, Canada
Screening and defining iron deficiency in pregnant individuals

Michelle Sholzberg
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Screening and defining iron deficiency in pregnant individuals

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ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Hydroxyurea for Sickle Cell Disease

In this session, speakers will highlight recommendations from the upcoming ASH guidelines on dosing and monitoring of hydroxyurea for SCD and will discuss important considerations for the application of the recommendations in practice.  

Chair:

Venee Tubman

Speakers:

Aimee Hildenbrand
Nemours Children's Health
Wilmington, Delaware, United States
Adherence Recommendations for Hydroxyurea for SCD

Aimee Hildenbrand
Thomas Jefferson University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Adherence Recommendations for Hydroxyurea for SCD

Jane Hankins
St Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Dosing Recommendations for Hydroxyurea for SCD

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ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Myelofibrosis

In this session, speakers will highlight recommendations from the upcoming ASH guidelines on myelofibrosis and will discuss important considerations for the application of the recommendations in practice. 

Chair:

Brady Stein
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois, United States

Speakers:

Anthony Hunter
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Myelofibrosis Recommendation Highlights: Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS), Aspirin Therapy, and Iron Chelators

Douglas Tremblay
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, New York, United States
Jak Inhibitors in Myelofibrosis: Recommendations for Different Risk Profiles, Symptoms, and Treatment History

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ASH Clinicians in Practice Lunch: Access to Critical Drugs: The Causes, Costs, and Campaigns

Chair:

Mary-Elizabeth Percival
Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Seattle, WA, United States

Speakers:

Marta Wosinska
Brookings
Washington, DC, United States
The interactions of the pharmaceutical system and how the competing demands of different stakeholders can influence cost and shortages

Emily Mackler
YesRX
Ann Arbor, MI, United States
Combatting drug shortages with drug repository programs

Laura Bray
Angels for Change
Tampa, FL, United States
Advocacy at the federal and state level and how practitioners can get engaged

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ASH-FDA Joint Symposium on Newly Approved Therapies I

These joint sessions, co-sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will feature drugs recently approved to treat hematologic disorders. FDA product-reviewers will discuss the safety and efficacy issues for the products' clinical trials and toxicity studies. The program will also include clinicians who will discuss their perspectives on the use of the products in the real-world setting. There will be ample time for questions from the audience.

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ASH-FDA Joint Symposium on Newly Approved Therapies II

These joint sessions, co-sponsored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will feature drugs recently approved to treat hematologic disorders. FDA product-reviewers will discuss the safety and efficacy issues for the products' clinical trials and toxicity studies. The program will also include clinicians who will discuss their perspectives on the use of the products in the real-world setting. There will be ample time for questions from the audience.

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Early Faculty Career Development Session

This year, we will focus on how to be successful in your first 'real' job. Curated faculty speakers representing diverse job profiles will share their journey and advice on this topic. Strategies to develop a productive clinical or laboratory based research program, finding success as an practicing clinician and a clinical educator will be discussed. The speakers will then join a panel discussion on pathways to sustained success and job satisfaction where they will also address questions from the audience.

Chair:

Hetty Carraway
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH, United States

Speakers:

Courtney Jones
Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Cincinnati, OH, United States
Developing a Productive Research Program (How to Set up a New Laboratory) - Part 1

Alexey Danilov
City of Hope National Medical Center
Duarte, California, United States
Developing a Productive Research Program (How to Set up a New Laboratory) - Part 2

Peter Kouides
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY, United States
Developing a Focused Area of Clinical Expertise - Part 1

Courtney Jones
Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Cincinnati, OH, United States
Setting Yourself Up for Sustained Success - Panelist 1

Alexey Danilov
City of Hope National Medical Center
Duarte, California, United States
Setting Yourself Up for Sustained Success - Panelist 2

Peter Kouides
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY, United States
Setting Yourself Up for Sustained Success - Panelist 3

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How Can Community-Based and Academic Hematologists Foster Clinical Trial Participation as Part of Patient Care?

Patients often learn about clinical trials from their healthcare providers. However, the barriers to trial participation include: patients not being offered trials; physicians not having the capacity to effectively navigate clinicaltrials.gov and enroll patients; and community-based physicians are often not engaged (or engaged early enough to make a meaningful impact) in the clinical trial life cycle. This session will (1) address barriers that practicing hematologists face offering trials to patients, (2) provide practical solutions to overcome these barriers and (3) highlight best practices to engage patients and increase participation in trials.

Speakers will consist of a mix of practicing hematologists as well as other stakeholders in the clinical trial enterprise sharing their perspectives on the issue. The session will conclude with the speakers providing practical tactics that the audience can take to enhance access, inclusivity, and ultimately representation in hematology trials.

Chair:

Leonard Valentino
Rush University Medical Center
New York, NY, United States

Speakers:

Leonard Valentino
Rush University Medical Center
New York, NY, United States
Challenges to Clinical Trial Participation

Fabio Dennstadt
University of Bern
Bern, Switzerland
Moving Patients to Participants in Hematology Clinical Trials

Stephanie Valer Seremetis
Novo Nordisk A/S
Plainsboro, NJ, United States
Industry Perspective

Alysha Croker
Health Canada
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Government Perspective

Jeffrey Keefer
IQVIA
Keswick, VA, United States
CRO Perspective

Lanre Tunji-Ajayi
Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario
Pickering, ON, Canada
Patient Perspective

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Leveraging Real-World Data in Multiple Myeloma for Regulatory Purposes

Real-world data (RWD) programs have become a vital resource to researchers to transform medicine. RWD provide large volumes of data that allow researchers to precisely target specific patient populations for research and to tailor new treatments and care regimens to improve patient outcomes. This 90-minute session, hosted by the ASH Research Collaborative Multiple Myeloma Research Network, will explore how various programs are leveraging RWD to drive real-world evidence generation and impactful research for regulatory purposes and advancing care.   

Chair:

Saad Usmani
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY, United States

Speakers:

Saad Usmani
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY, United States
Welcome and Opening Remarks

Shaji Kumar
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN, United States
Lessons from the ASH RC Multiple Myeloma Data Hub

Othman Akhtar
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, WI, United States
Lessons from CIBMTR

Nicole Gormley
Food and Drug Administration
Silver Spring, MD, United States
RWE Guidance from the FDA perspective

Edward Laane
European Medicines Agency (EMA)
Tartu, Estonia
RWE Guidance from the EMA perspective

Sushmita Sen
Roche
Basel, Switzerland
RWE Considerations from the Industry perspective

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Leveraging Real-World Data in Sickle Cell Disease to Identify and Study Specific Cohorts of Interest

Real-world data (RWD) programs have become a vital resource for researchers to transform medicine. RWD provides large volumes of data that allow researchers to precisely target specific patient populations and tailor new treatments and care regimens to improve patient outcomes. This 90-minute session, hosted by the ASH Research Collaborative SCD Research Network, will explore how various RWD programs allow researchers to use RWD to identify specific patient populations of interest and drive impactful research.   

Chair:

Charles Abrams
U Penn
Philadelphia, PA, United States

Speakers:

Charles Abrams
U Penn
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Welcome and Opening Remarks

Biree Andemariam
University of Connecticut
Farmington, CT, United States
Case Studies for Collaborative Research: Using RWD to Accelerate Research on SCD Patient Cohorts: ASH RC - Using the ASH RC Data Hub to Identify SCD Patients Who Are High Utilizers of Emergency and Inpatient Care

Patty Steinert
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, WI, United States
Case Studies for Collaborative Research: Using RWD to Accelerate Research on SCD Patient Cohorts: CIBMTR – Using CIBMTR to Track Patients on Gene Therapy for Long-Term Safety and Efficacy

Jeffrey Lebensburger
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL, United States
Case Studies for Collaborative Research: Using RWD to Accelerate Research on SCD Patient Cohorts: Kidney Health Initiative – Using RWD to Develop a Framework to Support SCD Disease for SCD Treatment Research Support SCD Disease for SCD Treatment Research

Julie Kanter
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL, United States
Case Studies for Embedding Data Quality with Cohort Identification Studies for More Effective SCD Research Case: Using Multiple RWD Sources to Identify People with SCD Eligible for Novel Therapies

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Medical Educators' Symposium

The ASH 2025 Medical Educators Symposium will be focused on cultural evolutions, both for academic medical practice and trainee education. Medical education and patient care are rapidly transforming from the perspective of inclusivity, cultural humility, and mixed methods of teaching. Come hear from educational experts about how to better engage trainees through revolutionary multimedia approaches as well. Regardless of your training level or faculty rank, come join the conversation and share your perspectives. Everyone's voice matters!

Chair:

Alexander Boucher
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN, United States

Speakers:

Robert Stern
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA, United States
General Session 1: The Evolving Landscape of Cultural Terminology in Hematology Part 1

Laura DeCastro
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Pittsburgh, PA, United States
General Session 1: The Evolving Landscape of Cultural Terminology in Hematology Part 2

Jean M. Connors
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
General Session 2: Tips and Tricks to Efficiently Handle Knowledge Gathering Part 1

Jori May
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL, United States
General Session 2: Tips and Tricks to Efficiently Handle Knowledge Gathering Part 2

Jori May
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama, United States
General Session 2: Tips and Tricks to Efficiently Handle Knowledge Gathering Part 2

Ronak Mistry
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, United States
General Session 3: Content Creation as Medical Educators Part 1

Jonaphine Mata
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD, United States
General Session 3: Content Creation as Medical Educators Part 2

Ronak Mistry
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, United States
Breakout 1: Multimedia Integration into Educational Curricula - Facilitator A

Jonaphine Mata
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD, United States
Breakout 1: Multimedia Integration into Educational Curricula - Facilitator B

Marina Heskel
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States
Breakout 2: Mixed Methods Educational Strategies for All Learners - Facilitator A

Reed E. Drews
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA, United States
Breakout 2: Mixed Methods Educational Strategies for All Learners - Facilitator B

Reed E. Drews
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Breakout 2: Mixed Methods Educational Strategies for All Learners - Facilitator B

Reed E. Drews
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Breakout 2: Mixed Methods Educational Strategies for All Learners - Facilitator B

Robert Stern
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA, United States
Breakout 3: Cultural Humility in Hematology Care - Facilitator A

Rohini Jain
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, CA, United States
Breakout 3: Cultural Humility in Hematology Care - Facilitator B

Sana Saif Ur Rehman
Washington University in St Louis
Saint Louis, MO, United States
Breakout 4: Innovation in Education for the Current Generation - Facilitator A

Thomas Deloughery
Oregon Health & Science University
Portland, Oregon, United States
Breakout 4: Innovation in Education for the Current Generation - Facilitator B

Thomas Deloughery
Oregon Health and Science Univ.
Portland, OR, United States
Breakout 4: Innovation in Education for the Current Generation - Facilitator B

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Progress in Sickle Cell Disease Research and Care?and a Look to the Future

Chair:

Alexis Thompson

Speakers:

Omar Niss
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, OH, United States
Leveraging the ASH Research Collaborative SCD Research Network to Understand Underused Disease Modifying Therapies and Updates from Voxelotor?Withdrawal

Robert Liem
Lurie Children's Hospital
Chicago, IL, United States
ASH SCD Clinical Guidelines and Implementation Tools in Action

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To, Through and Thereafter: Guiding Sickle Cell Disease Patients Considering Gene Therapy

In 2023, the Food & Drug Administration approved the first gene therapies for the treatment of sickle cell disease. However, despite these advancements, only a small number of impacted individuals have received gene therapy, despite over 100,000 people living with the disease in the United States. The ASH Health Equity Task Force is hosting this special-interest session to highlight important considerations for providers and administrators to consider as they guide patients and patient representatives in accessing, navigating through, and after care for gene therapy.

This session is 90 minutes in duration. The first hour will consist of a facilitated panel discussion to educate hematologists on the nuances of understanding (1) key considerations to share with patients in determining if gene therapy is a viable treatment for them, (2) helping patients understand what they can expect and how they may need to prepare, if they proceed with gene therapy, and (3) critical preparation for patients and their caregivers to optimize their post treatment recovery and continuity of care for the long term. Following the panel discussion there will be 30 minutes for questions from the audience. The panel will be composed of 3 hematologists and 2 lived experience experts (LEEs) who will share their expertise and perspective for how to support and guide patients through each of the three stages of the process:


1. To Gene Therapy – which will focus on hematologists who are selecting and referring patients for gene therapy and also facing insurance approval challenges.
2. Through Gene Therapy – which will focus on physicians performing gene therapy and involved in day-to-day management of complications, etc. 
3. Thereafter, Gene Therapy – which will focus on physicians involved in post-gene therapy management. 

Chairs:

Titilope Fasipe
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas, United States

Titilope Fasipe
Texas Children's Hospital
Houston, Texas, United States

Speakers:

Alexis Leonard
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee, United States
To Gene Therapy

Alexander Ngwube
Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital
Houston, TX, United States
Through Gene Therapy

Andrew Campbell, MD
Children's National Hospital
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Thereafter Gene Therapy

Jimi Olaghere
Sugarloaf Capital
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Lived Experience Expert

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Training Program Directors Workshop

The goal of the 2025 Training Program Directors Workshop is to look forward and determine how hematology-oncology fellowships can innovate and change in order to improve our programs and meet the needs of our future fellows. Through learning about innovations within other fellowship programs, understanding how professionalism expectations can change to meet the contemporary fellow, and considering the career trajectories for med-peds trained residents, we hope that the session will encourage program directors to assess their own programs and consider opportunities for improvement/innovation.

Chair:

Robert Stern
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA, United States

Speakers:

Rakhi Naik Jr
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Innovations Large and Small in Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Training Part 1

Lisa Pei Chu Jr
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center
Aurora, Colorado, United States
Innovations Large and Small in Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Training Part 2

Jennifer Yui Jr
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Innovations Large and Small in Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Training Part 3

Yannis Valtis
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY, United States
Med Peds Path to Heme/Onc Training Part 1

John Molina
CCF
Shaker Heights, OH, United States
Med Peds Path to Heme/Onc Training Part 2

John Molina
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Med Peds Path to Heme/Onc Training Part 2

Jennifer Kesselheim
Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center
Boston, MA, United States
Professionalism

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Treating Fairly Rounds Lunch

The Treating Fairly Rounds Lunch session will

  1. Introduce the role of language (and cultural diversity) in the delivery of health care for non-English speaking populations
  2. Discuss the impact of language barrier on the utilization of old and novel therapies, patient compliance, safety, and disease outcomes
  3. Present potential solutions to overcome some of the challenges posed by language barriers and improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes.

Chairs:

Yvonne Efebera
Ohio Health
Columbus, OH, United States

Srinivas Devarakonda

Speakers:

Rahma Warsame
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN, United States
Healthcare Access to Non-English Speaking Populations - Presenter 1

Cesar Rodriguez
ICANS school of medicine
New York, NY, United States
Healthcare Access to Non-English Speaking Populations - Presenter 2