UP FRONT
ASH Directions
ASH Expands Global Initiative With
Research Award for Hematologists
Outside North America
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) Global
Research Award was established in 2018 as part of the
Society’s expanding global initiative to support the study
of hematology and improve the quality of care outside
of North America.
The first eight winners, representing seven countries,
were honored for their work spanning the full spectrum
of hematology, including projects focused on reducing
the incidence of stroke in children with sickle cell dis-
ease in Africa, developing a chimeric antigen receptor
T-cell platform for low- and middle-income countries,
and investigating targeted therapy to stimulate red
blood cell development. They will receive funding for
research or training, including training in the conduct
of clinical trials.
“As a young female
physician-scientist,
the recognition
this award brings
has opened
doors and given me a voice. I
now have the opportunity to
directly advocate on behalf
of my patients and those
throughout the country.”
–FABIOLA VALVERT, MD
Guatemala
“The ASH Global
Research Award
introduced me to
the hematology
society in
Turkey, thereby allowing
me to establish stable and
constructive scientific
networks with most major
hematology centers and
hematologists nationwide.”
–CAN KÜÇÜK, PhD
Turkey
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ASH Clinical News
“The ASH Global Research Award identifies talented
hematologists who are just starting their careers after
completing their training and gives them the tools to
succeed right where they are,” said 2018 ASH President
Alexis Thompson, MD, MPH, of the Ann & Robert H.
Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. “In doing so, we
aim to support future leaders, increase capacity in low-
and middle-resource countries, and continue to nurture
hematology collaboration across borders.”
The 2018 ASH Global Research Award recipients are:
Emmanuela Ambrose, MD
Bugando Medical Centre
Mwanza, Tanzania
Alice Cheung, PhD
Singapore General Hospital
Bukit Merah, Singapore
Paolo Gallipoli, MD, PhD
University of Cambridge
Cambridge, United Kingdom
Renato Luiz Guerino Cunha, MD, PhD
Medical School of Ribeirão Preto
of São Paulo University
Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
Can Küçük, PhD
Dokuz Eylül University and İzmir Biomedicine
and Genome Center
İzmir, Turkey
Antonella Nai, PhD
Ospedale San Raffaele
Milan, Italy
Siana Nkya, PhD
Muhimbili University of Health
and Allied Sciences
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Cyntia Fabiola Valvert Gamboa, MD
Liga Nacional contra el Cáncer e Instituto
de Cancerología de Guatemala
Guatemala, Guatemala
Letters of intent are now being accepted for the 2020 award
cycle, through August 30. ASH categorizes applications
using the United National Human Development Index,
and applicants are evaluated only against those in their
same classification to ensure that all applicants are given an
equal opportunity regardless of access to resources. Visit
www.hematology.org/Global-Research.aspx for more
information.
Carlos Murga-Zamalloa, MD
Pathologist Secures
Four-Year ASH-AMFDP
Research Award for
Minority Scholars
Congratulations are in order for
Carlos Murga-Zamalloa, MD, who
has been selected to participate in the
ASH-Harold Amos Medical Faculty
Development Program (ASH-AMFDP),
which supports talented scholars
from diverse backgrounds. The four-
year postdoctoral research award is
presented in partnership with the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Dr. Murga-Zamalloa serves as a
house officer in the department of
pathology at the University of Michigan
Health System in Ann Arbor, where his
research focuses on the biology of T-cell
lymphoma, with an emphasis on the
role of actin-related signaling during
T-cell lymphoma progression. He will
spend at least 70 percent of his ASH-
AMFDP–funded research under the
mentorship of a senior faculty member
at his institution, where he hopes that
his project will result in the discovery of
novel signaling pathways that contribute
to the progression in treatment of T-cell
lymphomas.
The ASH-AMFDP program is de-
signed to enrich the field of hematology
by increasing the number of under-
represented minority scholars with
academic and research appointments
and is a component of the ASH Minority
Recruitment Initiative. ●
April 2019