Newsletter November 2011 - European Hematology Association

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Award winners of the 2012 TRTH program The study section of the Translational Research Training in Hematology (TRTH) has selected twenty winners for the TRTH 2012 program from 67 project proposals. > TRTH is a year-long training and mentoring program for early-career scientists starting with an intensive weeklong spring course held in Milan, Italy from March 17-23, 2012. During this course participants will gain an understanding of the tools necessary to be successful in translational research. Through didactic and breakout sessions trainees will learn key regulatory, methodological and organizational steps involved in refining their own translational research projects. The faculty is composed of leaders in the areas of biostatics and biomarkers, genetic and molecular biology, ethics, and clinical studies. This unique program offers multiple opportunities for networking and mentoring through personalized instruction in all aspects of laboratory techniques and training in the skills required for translational research. Participants of the TRTH program in 2011 have found that the experience provided them with a valuable professional mentoring network which brought them fully into the hematology community. “During the TRTH spring course, I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about research, statistics, scientific law and time management. However, the most valuable experience was meeting the faculty and my junior colleagues. Thank you for a terrific opportunity EHA and ASH!” Dr Suzanne Vercauteren, Canada “The TRTH has been an incredible exprience for me. I believe that it will inspire me through out my career. All mentors were highly motivated and wonderful role models. During the spring course I received valuable advice and good guidance for my own research project from both mentors and trainees. The opportunity to share thoughts and ideas with other young researchers in hematology was very good. I hope to stay connected with all of them.” Dr Felicitas Thol, Germany 14 > EHA Newsletter November 2011 Congratulations to the TRTH 2012 winners: • Jennifer Amengual, USA • Mattias Carlsten, Sweden • Goda Choi, the Netherlands • Rita Coutinho, Portugal • Kara Davis, USA • Stefan Deneberg, Sweden • Francine Garrett-Bakelman, USA/Israel • Florian Heidel, Germany • Jessica Hoell Spitzer, Germany • Anna Kalota, Poland • Cyrus Khandanpour, Germany • Olivier Kosmider, France • Andrew Lane, USA • Luca Mazzarella, Italy • Filippo Milano, Italy • Anjali Mishra, India • Narcis Popescu, Romania • Raajit Rampal, USA • Nina Rolf, Germany • Huichun Zhan, China The spring course of TRTH in 2010. “I felt very privileged to be selected for the 2011 EHA-ASH TRTH program. The opportunity to meet eminent translational scientists and fellow researchers from across the US and Europe in a relaxed setting was both exciting and stimulating. I would certainly recommend the program to anyone with an interest in translational research.” Dr Sunil Iyengar, UK “The TRTH program is an incredible opportunity to meet leaders in the field of hematology, hear how they think through scientific questions, and have them help you develop your own research projects. You also have the chance to learn from your peers across the globe – establishing friendships and collaborations that last well beyond the year. I highly recommend TRTH to anyone beginning their transition to independent research.” Dr Rafael Bejar, USA
Wine and Health ‘I have enjoyed great health at a great age because every day since I can remember I have consumed a bottle wine except when have not felt well. Then I have consumed two bottles’. The Bishop of Seville > I don’t suppose I can recommend the habits of the Bishop to you although there seems to be an intriguing connection between imbibing wine and longevity. The mystery of how wine affects your health has not been solved yet but I guess that the alcohol content of the wine the Bishop was drinking was lower than that found in most wines today. As a Haematologist many of you will have come across the problem of diagnosis and treatment of fungal infections in neutropenic patients. Well of course as a wine drinker you will know that the interaction between yeasts on the grape skins with the sugar in the grapes produces alcohol. Most winemakers rely on the naturally occurring yeasts but some of the ‘big’ growers prefer to add cloned yeasts! Now it appears, according to scientists in Sweden, that Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the best yeast for fermenting wine. In an article in Nature Communications J Piskur and colleagues from Lund claim that S cerevisiae underwent a series of gene changes 100-200 million years ago that helped it to become the leading ‘fermenter’ for beer and wine! He is quoted by Jacob Gaffney in the Wine Spectator as saying.’ Saccharomyces cerevisiae produces ethanol, accumulates it, and kills the competing microbes’. The scientists say the further laboratory genetic manipulation of S cerevisiae might allow reductions in the final alcohol content of wine! However although fungus is essential for wine making it can also cause severe damage to grapes, especially shortly before har- A Chateau in Bordeaux. Phylloxera vest. Sudden electric storms with hail stones can cause havoc in vineyards in September. Hail can damage grapes thus making them susceptible to fungal infection, a thing that all wine farmers dread. I presume we all worry that we will end up with some form of dementia if we live long enough. There may be some good news from Germany (nothing to do with the Euro problem) as a recent study, published in the journal Age and Aging, purports to show. Ruth Peters and colleagues from Imperial in London suggested in a study published in 2008 that moderate alcohol consumption in early adult life might offer some protection from dementia later on. Sigfried Weyerer and colleagues, in the same journal completed a study in 2011. Entitled ‘Current alcohol consumption and its rela- tionship to incident dementia: results from a 3-year follow-up study among primary care attenders aged 75 years and older’ they concluded that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is inversely related to incident dementia. Let’s hope it’s true and even if it isn’t a glass of wine or two daily helps to make the world bearable especially in these turbulent times! Genetic diversity and wine drinking! Do you worry or even think about it as you consume a glass of your favourite beverage? According to Ben O’Donnell in the Wine Spectator a geneticist named Sean Myles and his team have recently examined the DNA of 1000 wines in the U.S Department of Agriculture’s seed bank. They found that many grape varieties which we consider as distinct, from a point of view of taste, are actually closely related. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as well as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are very closely related to each other. This is no surprise to wine drinkers as these grapes traditionally are grown in the same areas, Burgundy and Bordeaux. What should worry us is the possibility of disease! If these grapes, and others, are closely related then their resistance to disease is probably also limited. Let’s hope we don’t experience another phylloxera epidemic! No matter what the authors say and publish there will always be those who think alcohol is the source of all evil and those who will use any method they can to promote its consumption. There is some truth in the quotation by William Shakespeare when Antonio says in ‘The Merchant of Venice’: ‘the devil can cite scripture for his purpose’. Whatever they say and whether I get dementia or not I’ll continue to enjoy a glass of wine or two! Ciao for now Giovanni Morelli Giovanni Morelli is a Hematologist who shares his time between Ireland and Tuscany. The opinions expressed are those of the author entirely and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EHA. EHA Newsletter November 2011 > 15
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Page 3 and 4: President’s Message It is a great
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Page 15: New on EHA Outreach program Report
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Page 21 and 22: EHA Partner Fellowship Winners Name
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Newsletter November 2011 - European Hematology Association

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