Funding the Future

Eight Researchers Awarded National Blood Foundation Grants

Researchers entering the fields of transfusion medicine and cellular therapy know that obtaining seed funding is a critical step in taking their projects to the next level. Likewise, those who have risen through the ranks understand how important it is to fund the next generation of early-career scientists.

“For myself, the NBF grants program allowed me to establish an independent research program in an arena, transfusion medicine, that I had left to obtain an advanced degree but which had always been my first interest,” says Connie Westhoff, PhD, MT(ASCP)SBB. “As chair of the NBF Grants Review Committee I see how important this program is to attract new young talent to the discipline of transfusion medicine.”

Westhoff believes that the experiences of many other NBF grant recipients mirror hers, and at Annual Meeting events like Saturday’s NBF Grant Recipients’ Lecture and Luncheon, it’s easy to see how this observation rings true. “The grant recipient lecture is designed as a showcase to allow three investigators who are previous recipients of NBF grants to present their work,” she explains. The lecture and luncheon, made possible through the generous support of New York Blood Center, are sold out again this year.

The first lecturer is typically an individual who just received his or her grant. The second lecturer is usually someone who is a year or two into the funded project, and the third presenter is someone who is nearing the end of the funding period. This year’s presenters include Cheryl Ann Lobo, PhD, of New York Blood Center; Eric M. Ostertag, MD, PhD, from the University of Pennsylvania; and James Zimring, MD, PhD, of Emory University.

For those who attend the luncheon and see the effect of funding early-career scientists firsthand, the value of the NBF research grant program is evident. “One of the greatest things about the NBF grant program is that it allows scientists within AABB to identify other up-and-coming scientists who are going to contribute and push our field further into the future,” Westhoff notes.

For 2007, the NBF Board of Trustees has selected eight grant recipients, each of whom will receive up to $65,000. The research grants, made possible through support from the NBF Council on Research and Development,  NBF Partners, and individual and institutional contributors, are awarded to applicants whose proposals are approved for funding by the NBF Grants Review Committee. Proposals are evaluated on the basis of their scientific merit, relevance to and impact on transfusion medicine and science, focus and appropriateness to the scope of funding, and likelihood of yielding meaningful data.

The grant recipients for 2007 are:

•    Spero Cataland, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University: Cyclosporine or Corticosteroids with Plasma Exchange in TTP.

•    Peiman Hematti, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director, Clinical Hematopoietic Cell Processing Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison: ESC-Derived MSC Transplantation in NOD/SCID Mice.

•    Cheryl Lobo, PhD, Department of Molecular Parasitology, Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center: Role of Red Cell Glycophorins in the Invasion of Babesia divergens.

•    Louise McCormick, PhD, Assistant Professor, Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University: Role of CMV Inhibitor of Caspase-8 Activation in Disease.

•    Michael Milsom, PhD, Research Associate, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Research Foundation: Correction of Fanconi Anemia Stem Cell Defect.

•    Lirong Qu, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh; Assistant Medical Director, Centralized Transfusion Service, BS/UBS: Quantification of HHV-8 in U.S. Blood Donors with Real-Time PCR.

•    Astrid van Halteren, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center: Pregnancy-Induced MHC Alloimmune T Cells and Fetal Microchimerism.

•    Saul Yedgar, PhD and Gregory Barshtein, PhD, Professors, Biochemistry Department, Hebrew University: Repair of Red Blood Cells Flow Properties for Transfusion Therapy.

NBF Recognizes Major Donors for Support of Early-Career Research

NBF relies on contributions from members of its Council on Research and Development (CORD) and its NBF Partners, along with gifts from individuals, institutions and foundations, to fund its research grant program. Major donors include:

CORD Members

Abbott Laboratories

American Red Cross

Blood Systems/United Blood    Services

Chiron, a Novartis Business

Fenwal Inc.

Gambro BCT

Haemonetics Corp.

New York Blood Center

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics

Pall Corp.

Roche Diagnostics

NBF Partners

BCA/hemerica
Blood Bank Computer    Systems Inc.
Blood Centers of the Pacific
BloodCenter of Wisconsin Inc.
Bonfils Blood Center
Florida-Georgia Blood Alliance
Florida’s Blood Centers Inc.
Gen-Probe, Inc.
Global Med Technologies Inc.
Puget Sound Blood Center
Rhode Island Blood Center
SEBRA
Terumo Medical Corp.
The Institute for Transfusion Medicine
UnitedPharma/MacoPharma


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