American Society of Hematology Selects LIH researcher for Global Research Award

• Tumor Stroma Interactions
• Department of Cancer Research

In July 2023, Dr Pablo Elias Morande, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Tumor Stroma Interactions group of the LIH Department of Cancer Research (DOCR), was awarded the prestigious 2023 Global Research Award by the American Society of Hematology (ASH). The award is intended to support future international scientific leaders in hematology between completion of training and the establishment of their independent careers. Dr Morande is one of 12 talented early-career investigators selected for this honour.

Through the ASH Global Research Award, ASH helps ease this difficult transition for researchers outside the United States and Canada by providing a partial salary or other support during that critical period, allowing recipients to pursue research projects that will help them get to the next step in their careers.

Dr Morande will receive research support to study the unexplored role of Histones 1 (H1) in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and in Richter transformation, a more aggressive form of the disease. The project aims to decipher the contribution of H1 in the mechanisms that lead to changes in the chromatin state of leukemic cells, which in turn can drive disease evolution and therapy relapse of CLL patients. ASH support to the project started in August 2023 and will last for three years, as a collaboration between the LIH and the IMEX-CONICET Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In the context of the ASH Global Research Award, two mentors were assigned to Dr Morande: Dr Etienne Moussay, head of the TSI group at the LIH, as Local Mentor; and Dr Jan Burger from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, as Global Mentor. Both supported the application and offered their help to promote the project.

Receiving this prestigious award has further boosted our motivation. I am delighted that such an important and globally renowned Society selected our proposal for funding. I thank the ASH for supporting our research, and all my present and past colleagues for their invaluable contributions in the conceptualization, design and implementation of our project

said Dr Morande

The 12 researchers selected for this year represent 10 countries: Argentina, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Sweden.