ASH News Daily 2016 - Issue 2 - A-14

ASH News Daily

Page A-14
®

ASH | Awards

MEDICAL STUDENT
AND EARLY
INVESTIGATOR
AWARDS
Dr. Saskia Middeldorp discusses carrying on the fight against inherited
thrombophilia as she delivers the Ham-Wasserman Lecture.

Helping launch and grow careers in
hematology through early experience
in hematology investigation.
ASH Minority Medical Student Award Program
(MMSAP)
Part of the ASH Minority Recruitment Initiative Program

The MMSAP engages medical students in the field of hematology
by providing participants with a stipend to complete an eight- to
12-week research experience in the lab of an ASH member.
Participants also receive the guidance of two mentors and travel
support to attend the ASH annual meeting.
December 15 - Mentor Request Deadline
February 1 - Application Deadline

ASH Minority Resident Hematology
Award Program (MRHAP)

NEW!

Part of the ASH Minority Recruitment Initiative Program

This award is a "next step" research opportunity for residents to
gain valuable hematology research experience under the guidance
of two mentors. ASH MRHAP is part of the newly expanded
career pathway for awards under the ASH Minority Recruitment
Initiative.
February 1 - Application Deadline

HONORS (Hematology Opportunities for the
Next Generation of Research Scientists)
The HONORS award provides medical students and residents
with an interest in hematology a stipend to conduct either a shortterm hematologic project for up to three months, or a long-term
hematology project lasting between three and 12 months.
February 17 - Application Deadline

ASH Physician-Scientist Career
Development Award
This is an opportunity for medical students to gain experience in
hematology research and to learn more about the specialty by
immersing themselves in a yearlong laboratory, translational, or
clinical investigation under the mentorship of an ASH member.
January 6 - Application Deadline

www.hematology.org/awards
American Society of Hematology
Helping hematologists conquer blood diseases worldwide

CAREER
PLANNING

EARLY- MIDCAREER

CAREER
ACHIEVEMENT

Blood and Beyond
«« From Page A-9

molecular pathophysiology in other
areas. But hematologists, qualifies
Dr. Berliner, can "lose sight of the
complex notions held by the nonmedical world regarding the ethical,
social, and historical implications of
blood and blood products."
For the latter part of the session,
we must doff our hematology hats
and become lay historians and economists as we explore the broader
context of blood as a precious natural human resource. Professor Starr,
who teaches journalism and is codirector of the graduate program in
science journalism at Boston University, wrote Blood: An Epic History of Medicine and Commerce as a
narrative of the development (warts
and all) of blood as a resource. The
book won a coveted Los Angeles
Times Book Prize and was the basis
for the PBS series Red Gold, which
aired nationwide. In his portion of
the session, Professor Starr will take
us from crude battlefield transfusions during the Great War to the
ultra-high-tech blood bank of the
21st century. Professor Starr likens
blood to a natural resource, much
like petroleum. And just like oil,
blood's utility, and controversy, has
swept the globe in recent decades.
Blood has been described as "red
gold" and has fueled wars as well as
the "hemophilia holocaust." Professor Starr will illustrate these stories
with historical photographs and
videos. But there are other problems
besides infections. Just as with other natural resources, blood can be
wasted. "There was a crazy collection of blood after 9/11," recounts
Professor Starr. "It was a reflexive

"The purpose of this
session will be to take a
look at medicine and
science from an entirely
different angle and to
hear from those inside
and outside the field."
- Dr. Bob Löwenberg

thing...but it all went to waste."
Yet he is sanguine about the future.
Starr proposes alternative models
to the traditional blood bank: "The
paradigm has to change - the old
idea of a blood bank in emergency
is outdated. We have to shift the
paradigm to a blood pipeline." New
systems like bloodless surgeries
and blood pipelines promise that
the story of blood will continue to
evolve in the 21st century.
For millennia, blood has held a
special mystique in human consciousness. Worldwide, cultural and
religious practices involve blood
and embrace the notion that it is the
source of life. This historical importance is today embedded in our language (e.g., "bloodline" and "blood
is thicker than water") as well as our
mythologies: Even vampire stories
are a by-product of our obsession
with blood. As hematologists, blood
always holds a special place for us,
but it will be a refreshing change to
step back from the microscope and
instead to picture blood in its rightful place at the center of centuries of
cultural influence.
Dr. Blachly indicated no relevant
conflicts of interest.

Like sands through the hourglass,
so are the sculptures of our lives.
#ASHunt

http://www.hematology.org/awards

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASH News Daily 2016 - Issue 2