THE NATIONAL BLOOD FOUNDATION (NBF) ANNOUNCES
RECIPIENTS OF THE 2005 NBF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH GRANTS
Call for 2006 Nominations is Underway

Bethesda, Md. - The National Blood Foundation (NBF) Board of Trustees recently announced the recipients of the 2005 NBF Scientific Research Grants. Each grant recipient will receive up to $50,000 to pursue either a one- or two-year research project in the fields of blood banking, transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. This year’s recipients are: Marie Bleakley, MD; Jose A. Cancelas, MD, PhD; Li Chai, MD; Brian Custer, MPH, PhD; Craig E. Daniels, MD; Allison Hubel, MS, PhD; Andrew Mackin, BVMS, NVS, DVSc, FACVSc, Diplomate ACVIM; Nora R. Ratcliffe, MD; and Steven R. Sloan, MD, PhD.

“The 2005 NBF grant recipients represent an exceptional group of emerging researchers with diverse backgrounds, all of whom have made significant contributions to the fields of blood banking and transfusion medicine,” said John D. Roback, MD, PhD, chair of NBF's Grants Review Committee. “The program continues to encourage original scientific research, and to date has awarded more than $3.7 million to 127 scientific researchers.”

Proposals for NBF grants 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. NBF scientific research grants are made possible by contributions from NBF's Council on Research and Development (CORD) members and its NBF Partners, along with gifts from individuals, institutions and foundations.

The following are synopses of the nine winning proposals:

Marie Bleakley, MD
Discovery of Antigens for Targeted Therapy of Leukemia

Dr. Bleakley, a senior fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a Pediatric Hematology and Oncology fellow at the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Wash., proposes a novel strategy to identify minor histocompatibility antigens that could be targeted to prevent the recurrence of leukemia following blood or bone marrow transplantation. The tools derived from these studies could prove very useful for future anti-leukemia therapies.

Jose A. Cancelas, MD, PhD
Mobilization of Hematopoietic Stem Cells by Reversible Inhibition of Rac-Type Rho GTPases: Demonstration of Proof-of-Concept for Future Clinical Applications

Dr. Cancelas, director of research at the Hoxworth Blood Center and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Ohio, proposes to study a novel inhibitor of Rac-type Rho GTPases to aid in mobilizing stem cells for transplantation.

Li Chai, MD
A Novel Intracellular Pathway of WT1/HSAL2 in Leukemogenesis

Dr. Chai, an instructor in pathology at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and an associate director of the Adult Transfusion Service at Children's Hospital in Boston, Mass., Department of Laboratory Medicine, proposes to study a new potential tumor suppressor gene, HSAL2, that is altered or missing in acute leukemias, which can play an important role in the development of acute myelogenous leukemia. These studies have significant relevance to leukemia diagnosis and treatment.

Brian Custer, MPH, PhD
Retrospective Cohort Analysis of Return Behavior in Temporarily Deferred and Eligible Voluntary Blood Donors

Dr. Custer, staff scientist of epidemiology and health policy research, at the Blood Systems Research Institute in San Francisco, Calif., proposes to investigate pre-donation deferral by analyzing deferred donor return following the expiration of these deferrals and comparing rates of return to a representative sample of eligible donors. Quantifying the impact of temporary disqualification of donors will be valuable for understanding the impact of temporary deferrals, and may lead to strategies to modify existing donor deferrals to increase the blood supply without decreasing safety.

Craig E. Daniels, MD
The Accuracy of Natriuretic Peptides (BNP and NT-pro-BNP) in the Differentiation between Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI) and Transfusion Related Circulatory Overload (TACO)

Dr. Daniels, an associate professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., will investigate the utility of a laboratory assay, plasma BNP, to distinguish between the two clinical conditions by conducting a prospective study in an ICU setting.

Allison Hubel, MS, PhD
Post-Thaw Processing of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Products

Dr. Hubel, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, proposes to develop a microfluidic device that can be used to rapidly remove dimethyl sulfoxide from stem cell products prior to infusion. Use of the device would allow less cell loss than with current methods. The results may advance cryobiology and stem cell transplantation significantly.

Andrew Mackin, BVMS, MVS, DVSc, FACVSc, Diplomate ACVIM
Evaluation of the Efficacy of Phototreatment of Packed Red Blood Cells at Preventing Transfusion-Associated Transmission of Babesiosis in Dogs

Dr. Mackin, associate professor and Hugh Ward Chair of Small Animal Medicine at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Mississippi State, Miss., will evaluate the use of phototreatment of red cell units for inactivation of a canine pathogen, Babesia, to prevent its transmission via transfusion. These studies will provide additional important data regarding the application of pathogen inactivation technology to human transfusion medicine. Mackin will embark on the study with co-principal investigator Andrea Balch, DVM, who is currently a resident of small animal internal medicine at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Nora R. Ratcliffe, MD
The Role of Dendritic Cell Subsets in Autoimmune Myocarditis and the Potential for Cytotherapy

Dr. Ratcliffe, chief of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in White River Junction, Vt., and Manchester, N.H., and an assistant professor in pathology at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, N.H., has proposed studies that are directed at understanding the role of a subset of dendritic cells in a rat model of autoimmune myocarditis, and their potential in prevention and attenuation of autoimmune disease. These studies may lead to a novel approach in using dendritic cells as immunotherapeutics for treatment of autoimmune diseases.

Steven R. Sloan, MD, PhD
Role of the CCL4 Chemokine in the Immune Response to Red Cell Transfusions: Implications for Immunosuppressive Therapy

Dr. Sloan, who serves as the blood bank medical director at Children's Hospital and as an assistant professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass., proposes to investigate the role of CCL4 chemokine expression by B-cells in humoral immune response to RBC transfusion and production of anti-RBC antibodies. These studies should lead to new insights into the mechanisms of antibody production against transfused RBCs, and to potentially novel approaches to prevent the development of alloantibodies against RBCs.

About 2006 Scientific Research Grant Applications
NBF is currently accepting scientific research grant applications, with a maximum award per grant increased to $65,000 this year. Grant applications must be received by December 13, 2005. Grants will be announced in June 2006. NBF, a program of AABB that was established in 1983, is dedicated to advancing transfusion medicine and blood banking by funding scientific research that benefits patients and donors. For more information, contact NBF at +1.301.215.6552 or email nbf@aabb.org. 

About AABB
Established in 1947, AABB is an international, not-for-profit association dedicated to the advancement of science and the practice of transfusion medicine and related biological therapies. The association is committed to improving health by developing and delivering standards, accreditation and educational programs and services that optimize patient and donor care and safety. AABB membership consists of approximately 1,800 institutions and 8,000 individuals, including physicians, scientists, administrators, medical technologists, nurses, researchers, blood donor recruiters and public relations personnel. Members are located in all 50 states and 80 countries.

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