2009-12-06

Developed jointly between ASH and the European Hematology Association (EHA), the Translational Research Training in Hematology (TRTH) program was designed in response to increasing demand from European and North American researchers to understand how to direct translational research in an increasingly global world.

Geared toward medical trainees, biomedical trainees, and pharmaceutical doctorate trainees generally within 12 years of receiving their medical degrees or with less than eight years of postdoctoral experience, the TRTH award gives young researchers the tools, mentoring, and access to resources beneficial for a successful career in hematology. The program focuses on translational research — pathogenesis, diagnostics, and experimental treatment of hematologic disorders — and includes specific scientific methodology adapted to the needs of the participants as well as more general subjects with relevance for planning and pursuing a project. 

The inaugural TRTH, modeled after ASH’s successful Clinical Research Training Institute, will bring 20 young scientists to southern Europe from March 20-26, 2010. This rigorous one-week training course will allow participants to concentrate on projects directly focused on the use of human samples or in vitro and/or animal samples close to translation to human subjects. Leaders in the areas of biostatistics and biomarkers, ethics, clinical studies, and genetic and molecular biology will foster personalized mentoring through a 1:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 

Didactic sessions at the week-long course will help researchers prepare to conduct hypothesis-driven research, design phase I and II clinical trials, use animal models for translational research, and employ diagnostic tests and biomarkers in translational research. Practical sessions will focus on career development, featuring career retrospectives from hematology pioneers, expert opinions regarding opportunities in translational research, and panel discussions about grant preparation and funding sources. The program spans an entire year and includes two subsequent follow-up courses, one at the EHA annual congress in June 2010 and another in conjunction with the ASH annual meeting in December 2010, that will provide opportunities for further interaction and mentoring.

The study section met in Amsterdam on November 3 and 4 to select the participants for the inaugural program. 

TRTH draws on the strength of the partnership between EHA and ASH. Through this cross-cultural collaboration and adaption of both general hematologic expertise and specific methodology, participants will receive the tools, mentoring, and peer network to help position them as global leaders in the field of translational research. 

2010 TRTH Participants

Caroline Bateman, MD
Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital
Sutton, Surrey, UK

Satiro De Oliveria, MD
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

Miriam Erlacher, MD, PhD
University of Freiburg
Freiburg, Germany

Verena Gaidzik, MD
University Hospital of Ulm
Ulm, Germany

Brett Glotzbecker, MD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, MA

Rashmi Goswami, MD
University of Toronto, Ontario Cancer Institute
Toronto, Canada

Michaela Gruber, MD
Medical University Vienna
Vienna, Austria

Simon L. Hallam, MD
Institute of Cancer Research, Barts and the London School of Medicine
London, UK

David Irvine, MD
University of Glasgow, Paul O’Gorman Leukemia Research Center
Glasgow, UK

Shilpa Jain, MD
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh UPMC
Pittsburgh, PA

Christian Koenecke, MD
Hannover Medical School
Hannover, Germany

Zachariah McIver, MD
NHLBI/NIH
Rockville, MD

Hakon Reikvam, MD
University of Bergen
Bergen, Norway

Christian Scharenberg, MD
Karolinska Institute
Skövde, Sweden

Velizar Shivarov, MD
National Hematology Hospital
Sofia, Bulgaria

Catherine Smith, MD
UCSF
San Francisco, CA

Jerome Tamburini, MD
Institute Cochin
Paris, France

Ramon Tiu, MD
Cleveland Taussig Cancer Institute
Cleveland, OH

Pierre Villeneuve, MD, PhD
University of Toronto / Princess Margaret Hospital
Toronto, Canada

Peggy Wong, MD
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada

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