ASH recognizes abstract presenters at 53rd annual meeting in San Diego

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recognizes the following abstract presenters at the 53^rd ASH annual meeting in San Diego, CA, with the highest scoring abstracts in the categories of undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, and postdoctoral fellow. Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award (formerly Merit Award) winners receive a $500 honorarium plus annual meeting travel reimbursement.

The 2011 Outstanding Abstract Achievement Award recipients are:

Undergraduate StudentKathryn Luk
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Association of Mu Opioid Receptor with Neurogenic Inflammation in Sickle MiceAbstract #895

Medical StudentMorgan Jones
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
The Trithorax Group Protein Ash1l Is An Essential Epigenetic Regulator of Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cell MaintenanceAbstract #387

Alison Schram
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Genetic and Functional Investigation of Germline JAK2 Alleles That Predispose to Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
Abstract #124

Graduate StudentJin Yuan
Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
Lethal Myelofibrosis Induced by Bmi1-Deficient Hematopoietic Cells Unveils a Tumor Suppressor Function of the Polycomb Group GenesAbstract #390

Resident PhysicianChristian Braun, MD
University Children's Hospital, Dr. von Haunersches Kinderspital, Munich, Germany
Efficacy of Gene Therapy for Wiskott-Aldrich-SyndromeAbstract #165

Postdoctoral FellowKathryn Roberts, PhD
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Nashville, TN
Novel Chromosomal Rearrangements and Sequence Mutations in High-Risk Ph-Like Acute Lymphoblastic LeukemiaAbstract #67

Mary Rodes Gibson Memorial Award in Hemostasis and ThrombosisThis award was established to recognize the trainee (undergraduate student, medical student, graduate student, resident physician, or postdoctoral fellow) who is the first author and presenter of the highest scoring abstract submitted in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis. This annual award 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.

The 2011 recipient is:
Sou Nakamura
Center for IPS Cell Research and Application at Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Platelet Production System Using An Immortalized Megakaryocyte Cell Line Derived From Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Abstract #2

Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement AwardThe Minority Graduate Student Abstract Achievement Award was established in 2011 with the goal of attracting and/or retaining minority PhD students to the field of hematology through the ASH annual meeting.

The inaugural recipients of this award are:

Patrice Capers
Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
What's Your Tanner? An Analysis of the Impact of Sickle Cell Disease Phenotype on Pubertal Development and Body MassAbstract #2123

Nyasha Chambwe
Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY
Epigenetic Profiling of Primary DLBCLs Reveals Novel DNA Methylation-Based Clusters and New Underlying Mechanisms of LymphomagenesisAbstract #556

Grace I. Aldana Masangkay
University of California, Los Angeles, CA
A Small Molecule Inhibitor Targeting CREB and CBP Inhibits Proliferation of AML Cells In Vitro and In VivoAbstract #3607

Marthe-Sandrine Eiymo Mwa Mpollo
University of Cincinnati, Cincinatti, OH
Sickle Cell Disease Is Associated with Reduced Adenosine Deaminase Catalytic Activity, Resulting in Altered Adenosine Metabolism
Abstract #1078

Muithi Mwanthi
Indiana University School of Medicine, Bloomington, IN
PAK1 Regulates Eotaxin-Mediated Murine Eosinophil Migration in Vitro and In VivoAbstract #18

D'Andra Parker
McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Characterization of the Binding Between the Polymeric Platelet Adhesive Proteins, Multimerin 1 and Von Willebrand FactorAbstract #1144

Colles Orrin Joseph Price
University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
MLL-Rearrangements Result in Upregulation of Mir-9 and Subsequent Inhibition of the Tumor Suppressor TGFBI
Abstract #2453

National Marrow Donor Program Award for Best AbstractsTo commemorate the National Marrow Donor Program's (NMDP) 25^th anniversary and to honor the program's facilitation of 50,000 transplants, ASH and NMDP have partnered in 2011 to provide ten $2,500 awards to the highest scoring abstract in the following categories:

• Clinical Allogeneic and Autologous Transplantation: Results
• Bone Marrow Failure
• Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Biology & Pathophysiology
• Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Biology & Pathophysiology
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Biology, excluding Therapy
• Myelodysplastic Syndromes
• Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation: Conditioning Regimens, Engraftment and Acute Transplant Toxicities
• Clinical Allogeneic Transplantation: Acute and Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease and Immune Reconstitution
• Clinical Allogeneic and Autologous Transplantation: Late Complications and Approaches to Disease Recurrence
• Health Services and Outcomes Research