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NBF Announces Recipients of 2021 Scientific Research Grants

September 23, 2021

AABB’s National Blood Foundation (NBF) recently announced the recipients of the 2021 early-career Scientific Research Grants. Seema Bhatlekar, PhD, MBA; Alma-Martina Cepika, MD, PhD; Simon J. Cleary, PhD; Pietro Genovese, BSc, MSc, PhD; Panagiotis Mistriotis, PhD; and Jansen N. Seheult, MB BCh BAO, MSc, MS, MD, will each receive a grant of up to $75,000 to further a one- or two-year research project. These are the latest researchers to receive funding from the NBF, which has fueled early-career research in the fields of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies for almost 40 years.

“The NBF has awarded funding to a group of highly motivated and gifted investigators. It is very rewarding to be able to support early-career investigators in transfusion medicine as they push forward the boundaries of knowledge in our field,” said Jim Gorham, MD, PhD, chair of the NBF Scientific Research Grants Review Committee. “We think these young investigators will be making important discoveries not only in the next few years, but also well into the future. Ultimately, it is our patients who will benefit the most.”

AABB and the NBF congratulate this year’s awardees. This year, the grants will fund research in the following areas:

  • CRISPR/CAS9 Gene Editing Identified a Novel Role of Actin Bundling Protein L-plastin in Platelet Production (Bhatlekar).
  • Personalized Tr1 Cell-Based Therapy for Graft-vs-Host Disease (Cepika).
  • New Approaches to Study and Treat Alloantibody-Mediated Diseases Resulting from Blood Transfusions (Cleary).
  • Engineering Immunotherapy Resistant Hematopoiesis to Treat High-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia (Genovese).
  • Eliminating Senescent Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Using Microfluidics (Mistriotis).
  • A Stochastic, Multicompartment, Dynamic Model of Hemostasis and Oxygenation During Trauma Resuscitation: Building a Platform for in Silico Trials of Transfusion Strategies (Seheult).

Making a gift to the NBF supports early-career researchers seeking future medical breakthroughs across pediatrics, oncology, cardiology and transplantation. AABB urges members to continue to invest in emerging research by making a tax-deductible gift to the NBF today.