American Society of Hematology Announces Top Trainee Abstracts of 2017 ASH Annual Meeting

(WASHINGTON, November 9, 2017) – The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is pleased to recognize the following trainees with the highest-scoring abstracts in the categories of undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, and postdoctoral fellow at the 59th ASH Annual Meeting December 9-12 in Atlanta.

These represent only a fraction of Abstract Achievement Awards given by ASH to help defray the travel expenses for early-career investigators to attend the ASH annual meeting and present their findings in person.

“I am thrilled to recognize these talented trainees for the accomplishments they’ve made in the field of hematology,” said ASH President Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, of the Lebow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics and Jerome Lipper Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “Presenting an abstract to one’s peers from all over the world is an exciting milestone in any hematologist’s career, and we are pleased to honor these promising investigators at this year’s ASH annual meeting in Atlanta.”

The 2017 Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award recipients are:

Undergraduate Student
Kacey Guenther
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 
Abstract 776
Eltrombopag Promotes DNA Repair in Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells: Implications for the Treatment of Fanconi Anemia

Medical Student
Diego Espinoza
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 
Abstract 606
Aberrant Clonal Hematopoiesis of the Erythroid and Myeloid Lineages in a Lentivirally Barcoded Rhesus Macaque

Graduate Student
Shuhei Asada
The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Abstract 562
Mutant ASXL1 Cooperates with BAP1 to Promote Myeloid Leukemogenesis

Resident Physician
Simon Heidegger, MD
Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Munich, Germany
Abstract 693
Tumor-Intrinsic RIG-I Signaling Promotes Anti-CTLA-4 Checkpoint Inhibitor-Mediated Anticancer Immunity

Post Doctoral Fellow
Franco Izzo, PhD
New York Genome Center, New York, NY
Abstract 559
Single-Cell Methylome and Transcriptome High-Resolution Maps Define the Effects of Epigenetic Modifiers on the Landscape of Hematopoietic Differentiation

Mary Rodes Gibson Memorial Award in Hemostasis and Thrombosis
The Mary Rodes Gibson Memorial Award in Hemostasis and Thrombosis was established to recognize the trainee (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or post-doctoral fellow) who is the first author and presenter of the highest-scoring abstract submitted to the ASH Annual Meeting in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis. This annual award honoring excellence in hemostasis and thrombosis is made possible by the Mary Rodes Gibson Hemostasis-Thrombosis Foundation to continue the legacy of Mary Rodes Gibson, who suffered from severe, type 3 von Willebrand disease.

This award will be presented during the invited speaker session of the Special Symposium on the Basic Science of Hemostasis and Thrombosis on Monday, December 11, 2017 from 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM, GWCC, Building B, Level 3, B304-B305.

The 2017 recipient is:

Yunfeng Chen, PhD
The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
Abstract 547
Identification of a VWFA1 Mutation Attenuating Thrombus Growth but Not Platelet Adhesion

Giuseppe Bigi Memorial Award
The ASH Giuseppe Bigi Memorial Award was established in 2015 to recognize an Italian trainee (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or post-doctoral fellow) based at an Italian institution who has the highest-scoring abstract submitted in the field of hematopoiesis and stem cells. This annual award is made possible by a generous grant from the Giuseppe Bigi Association, named for the late Giuseppe Bigi, MD, a well-known Italian scientist.

The 2017 recipient is:

Luca Bertamini, MD
DIMES, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Abstract 1144
Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease and in Centenarians. Further Clues Linking Chip with Cardiovascular Risk

ASH-International Paroxysmal Interest Group Abstract Achievement Award for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria
2017 recipients are:

Mohammad Asad, MD, MBBS
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
Abstract 779
Extent and Clinical Implications of Subclonal Diversity in Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria

Lucia Gargiulo, PhD
Istituto Toscano Tumori, Florence, Italy
Abstract 1166
Two Distinct but Functionally Related Autoreactive T Cell Populations in Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria and Idiopathic Aplastic Anemia: Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-Specific and IFNγ-Producing T Cells

ASH-Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand Abstract Achievement Award
2017 recipient is:

Joshua Tobin, MD
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Queensland, Australia
Abstract 728
The Tumor Microenvironment Is Independently Prognostic of Conventional and Clinicogenetic Risk Models in Follicular Lymphoma

ASH-Japanese Society of Hematology Abstract Achievement Award
2017 recipients are:

Yasunori Kogure, MD, PhD
Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Abstract 730
Novel Mechanism of Post-Transcriptional Regulation of PD-L1 Expression By 3’-UTR Binding Proteins

Norihiro Murakami, MD
Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan
Abstract 487
Integrated Molecular Profiling of Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia

Masahiro Uni, MD, PhD
Department of Transfusion Medicine, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan 
Abstract 118
Modeling ASXL1 Mutation Revealed Myelodysplasia Caused By Derepression of p16Ink4a through Aberrant PRC1-Mediated Histone Modification

ASH-Society Italiana di Ematologia Abstract Achievement Award
2017 recipients are:

Antonella Nai, PhD
IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
Abstract 224
The Macrophage Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 4 Counteracts Iron-Deficiency Anemia

Giorgia Federico, PhD
University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
Abstract 223
NCOA4 Links Iron Bioavailability to DNA Metabolism

Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Award
Each year, ASH offers merit-based Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Awards to select graduate students to acknowledge their accomplishments and to recruit and retain minority graduate students in the field of hematology through exposure to the ASH Annual Meeting.

The 2017 Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Award recipients are: 

Sierrah Grigsby
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 
Abstract 3785
The AF9-Binding Domain of DOT1L Is Critical for Its Recruitment By MLL Fusion Proteins in Leukemia and Contributes to Its Functions in Normal Hematopoiesis

Lucas Gutierrez
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 
Abstract 2621
Midostaurin Reduces Regulatory T Cell Population in Healthy and Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells

Mojibade Hassan
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Abstract 4431
Reduced GvHD in Recipients of BM Derived Versus G-CSF Mobilized Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells: Role of Inducible IL-12

Ian Johnston
Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 
Abstract 2310
Platelet Factor 4 Binds to Released Von Willebrand Factor Strands from Injured Endothelium and Forms a Prothrombotic HIT Antigenic Complex

Nicole Lopez
Augusta University, Augusta, GA 
Abstract 2235
Salubrinal Mediated Fetal Hemoglobin Induction through the eIF2α-ATF4 Signaling Pathway

Kamira Maharaj
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Abstract 3009
Differential Regulation of T Cells By PI3K Delta Inhibitors in a CLL Murine Model

Amanda Mener
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Abstract 2403
Antibody-Mediated Immunosuppression Can Result from RBC Antigen Loss Independent of Fcγ Receptors in Mice

Tasha Morrison
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Abstract 288
A Long Noncoding RNA from the HBS1L-MYB Intergenic Region on Chr6q23 Regulates Human Fetal Hemoglobin Expression

Aluya Oseghale
Augusta University, Augusta, GA 
Abstract 3511
Novel Conjugates of Butyrate and δ-Aminolevulinate Increase γ-Globin Gene Expression and Fetal Hemoglobin Synthesis in Erythroid Progenitors

Brian Wadugu
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Abstract 3747
Normal Hematopoiesis Is Dependent on the Expression of U2af1, a Spliceosome Gene Commonly Mutated in MDS

A complete list of Abstract Achievement Award recipients is available at http://www.hematology.org/Awards/Award-Recipients/Abstract-Achievement/7913.aspx

The American Society of Hematology (www.hematology.org) is the world’s largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. ASH publishes Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online. In 2016, ASH launched Blood Advances (www.bloodadvances.org), an online, peer-reviewed open-access journal.

CONTACT:
Sara Khalaf, American Society of Hematology
[email protected]; 202-552-4925