This """"""""Harvard Blood Scholars"""""""" Career Development Award application is aimed as a renewal of the K12 Career Development Program in non-malignant hematology and transfusion medicine among a consortium of hematology training programs at Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals. The key rationale for this program is the need to reverse a long-term trend of graduates of hematology/oncology fellowship programs away from benign hematology practice and research. The first cycle of the program began in 2006. Six scholars, from three of the member hospital programs, matriculated in the first five years of NHLBI support, in diverse areas of hematology as defined for the program, to include myeloproliferative disorders and myelodysplastic syndrome, cell therapy (including gene therapy) and transfusion medicine, and traditional disciplines of non-malignant hematology including thrombosis and hemostasis, coagulation, anemias, marrow failure, disorders of neutrophils, iron-related diseases, and health-services research relating to these disorders. The program director, Dr. Ellis Neufeld, is a pediatric hematologist and geneticist involved in clinica trials of ITP, iron overload, and bleeding disorders, as well as lab-based genetic studies of inherited blood disorders. An advisory committee representing the institutions and broad variety of research interests serves as admissions committee and oversees the activities of the program. The prime candidate pool for K12 Blood Scholars includes pediatric and adult hematology, hematology/oncology and transfusion medicine fellows and instructors not only from the several training programs of our constituent hospitals, but also from junior physician-scientists of similar rank and interests from around the country. Most scholars will pursue two year career development programs. A third year of support may be available in some cases. Key components of the program include (a) formal training in methodology for patient oriented research, exemplified by the Harvard Medical Area's three Masters programs in Clinical Sciences, Clinical Effectiveness or Epidemiology, and Translational Research, and a mentored research project. A Blood Scholars Colloquium Series meets monthly, providing the entire Harvard Hematology community with cutting-edge research talks on patient- oriented studies in the disciplines of the grant. Each scholar develops with his/her mentors and the Advisory Committee an Individualized Curriculum Plan that takes into account the training level, background, and needs of the scholar for optimum career development. The key short-term metrics of the program are the demographics of the applicant and matriculating scholars, and the fraction of graduates who (a) apply for, and (b) receive advanced training grants in hematologic research particularly K23 or K08 grants. In the long run, the career choices and academic success of the graduates will be of paramount importance.

Public Health Relevance

Hundreds of unique diseases affect the blood;non-malignant hematology is the field of study of these disorders, excluding only the leukemias, or blood cancers. Although remarkable progress in hematology has fueled (and been fueled by) many of the key discoveries in modern medicine, the field is at risk from insufficient numbers of talented young physician scientists choosing to focus on blood disease. By providing expert training in research methods, and by convening an outstanding faculty of hematologists from across the several Harvard hospitals, this K12 Blood Scholars grant aims to launch the careers of the hematologist physician-scientists of the future.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Physician Scientist Award (Program) (PSA) (K12)
Project #
2K12HL087164-06
Application #
8287255
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHL1-CSR-J (F1))
Program Officer
Werner, Ellen
Project Start
2006-09-28
Project End
2017-05-31
Budget Start
2012-09-01
Budget End
2013-05-31
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$395,286
Indirect Cost
$29,280
Name
Children's Hospital Boston
Department
Type
DUNS #
076593722
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02115
Archer, Natasha M; Petersen, Nicole; Clark, Martha A et al. (2018) Resistance to Plasmodium falciparum in sickle cell trait erythrocytes is driven by oxygen-dependent growth inhibition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:7350-7355
Gansner, John M; Rahmani, Mahboubeh; Jonsson, A Helena et al. (2018) Plateletpheresis-associated lymphopenia in frequent platelet donors. Blood :
Heeney, Matthew M; Guo, Dongjing; De Falco, Luigia et al. (2018) Normalizing hepcidin predicts TMPRSS6 mutation status in patients with chronic iron deficiency. Blood 132:448-452
Gansner, John M; Furutani, Elissa; Campagna, Dean R et al. (2018) Pancreatic lipomatosis in Diamond-Blackfan anemia: The importance of genetic testing in bone marrow failure disorders. Am J Hematol 93:1194-1195
Grace, Rachael F; Despotovic, Jenny M; Bennett, Carolyn M et al. (2018) Physician decision making in selection of second-line treatments in immune thrombocytopenia in children. Am J Hematol 93:882-888
Schoettler, Michelle L; Graham, Dionne; Tao, Wen et al. (2017) Increasing observation rates in low-risk pediatric immune thrombocytopenia using a standardized clinical assessment and management plan (SCAMP® ). Pediatr Blood Cancer 64:
Tubman, Venée N; Makani, Julie (2017) Turf wars: exploring splenomegaly in sickle cell disease in malaria-endemic regions. Br J Haematol 177:938-946
Gansner, John M; Achebe, Maureen M; Gray, Kathryn J et al. (2017) Pregnancy outcomes in inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. Blood 130:1671-1674
Neunert, Cindy; Despotovic, Jenny; Haley, Kristina et al. (2016) Thrombopoietin Receptor Agonist Use in Children: Data From the Pediatric ITP Consortium of North America ICON2 Study. Pediatr Blood Cancer 63:1407-13
Tubman, Venée N; Marshall, Roseda; Jallah, Wilhemina et al. (2016) Newborn Screening for Sickle Cell Disease in Liberia: A Pilot Study. Pediatr Blood Cancer 63:671-6

Showing the most recent 10 out of 32 publications