simply blood

Each month, Simply Blood spotlights a lab focused on the research of basic hematology, immunology, stem cell research, cell and gene therapy, and other related aspects. Get to know these different labs around the world! This month, we are featuring the Trowbridge Lab at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, ME. How long have you had your lab? 7 years How many members make up your lab?  Students/postdocs? We currently have 2 postdocs, 1 Ph.D. student, 1 intern and 2 research assistants. What is the major research theme of your lab? My lab focuses on the biology of hematopoietic stem cell aging and understanding why aging is the major risk factor for developing clonal hematopoiesis and hematologic malignancy, specifically focusing on myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). What is the most exciting project in your lab right now? This is like asking which of my children is my favorite! Of course, they are all exciting! In my lab, we regularly re-...

All of us know goal setting is important, and we’re undoubtedly goal-oriented individuals. However, understanding how to set goals effectively is crucial for a number of reasons. First, personnel, money and time are finite resources. It is dangerous to squander them in projects that cannot be translated into papers or new grants, or that are inconsistent with one’s career development mission or the core values of a lab. For these reasons, before identifying goals it’s critical to address a more fundamental question: what is your mission? What are your values? What is most important for you to accomplish, either as a trainee or group leader? Where do you want your career or research program to go in five years or longer? Understanding these key points allows you to develop goals that are consistent with the wider context of your scientific interests, expertise, and available resources. They also allow you to move beyond simply ‘doing more and faster’ and instead establishing clear pri...

Each month, Simply Blood spotlights a lab focused on the research of basic hematology, immunology, stem cell research, cell and gene therapy, and other related aspects. Get to know these different labs around the world! This month, we are featuring the Yoshimoto Lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. How long have you had your lab?  One + three years. I was a non-tenure track Research Assistant Professor at Indiana University since 2011. I obtained my own lab space when I was awarded NIH R56 in 2015. I hired one post-doc and the two of us worked together. In 2016, I was awarded R01 and was recruited to my current position at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. How many members make up your lab?  Students/postdocs?    Five people. One Assistant Professor (my husband), 3 research assistants, and me. One post-doc just finished and returned to Brazil, so my lab is open for a new student/post-doc. What is the ...

In this two-part blog about my experience with the interview process for academic faculty positions, I previously covered the application process. This post will be about the ten visits I went on. In most places, the first visit will be one day with a seminar and one-on-one meetings with current faculty. Sometimes the first visit also includes a chalk talk. Some institutes organize a symposium where all the applicants give their talk, followed by one-on-one meetings with the search committee. For your seminar and your chalk talk, the key is to prepare early and practice many times. Practice with colleagues and anyone you think might listen. The search committee will most likely include people that are not in your field, so make sure the big picture comes across clearly. Ideally you can convey a trajectory of research from your graduate work to your postdoctoral work. This should logically progress into your future research plans, which can be addressed with a few slides at the end of...

Having been through a number of academic faculty interviews this year, I thought it would be a good time to convey some useful tips about the process. The blog is split into two parts: how I got academic faculty position interviews and how to handle the visits. I went on the job market 4.5 years into my postdoc with a K99 award and good publications. Knowing how competitive the field is, I wanted to apply broadly. The two main ways I applied for interviews was (1) responding to ads on job boards, university and research institute websites and (2) talking to people in the field, asking if they knew of any open positions. To my surprise, the first approach was relatively ineffective. I responded to some 20 job openings and did not hear back from most of them, and got few interviews. Several university websites are out of date and the most promising openings were just not on there. My second approach, networking, was much more successful. In particular, I got three interviews through ...

The ISEH 48th Annual Scientific Meeting was recently held in Brisbane, Australia. The meeting was excellent: the latest and greatest science in the field, catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, and all in a beautiful location. For those of you that could not attend, here are some highlights of the meeting from the perspective of the students, postdocs and junior PIs of the ISEH New Investigators Committee. Outstanding science The program of speakers at this year’s meeting was outstanding. Leaders from across the field freely shared their latest data and discussed new ideas. One highlight was David Scadden’s (Harvard, USA) description of a gel scaffold that is injected under the skin to promote T cell progenitor growth, which improved immune responses in bone marrow transplant recipients. Another great moment was Adam Wilkinson (Stanford, USA) describing a remarkable expansion of haematopoietic stem cells in culture after the addition of children’s craft glue! Brilliant d...

Each month, Simply Blood spotlights a lab focused on the research of basic hematology, immunology, stem cell research, cell and gene therapy, and other related aspects. Get to know these different labs around the world! This month, we are featuring the Gazit Lab at the Shraga Segal dept. of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics. How long have you had your lab?  Six years How many members make up your lab?  Students/postdocs? The lab roster currently consists of 2 undergrads, 1 Master, 4 PhD and 1 Postdoc, as well as many good friend and colleagues. What is the major research theme of your lab? Hematopoietic Stem Cells Immunology. We have several projects that are all about HSC regulation, especially by transcription-factors that are the stronghold of the cell's identity. Transcription factors allow us to study direct-reprogramming into HSCs, and to generate novel Leukemia Models in immune-competent mice. We are highly interested in Alternative Splicing, which br...

Learning to communicate The foundation of science is deeply rooted in fact and skepticism. Throughout scientific training, a scientist must master the skill of critical thinking. Without a strong logic or rationale, it is difficult to interpret your own work or that of others. Implicit to the mastery of critical thinking is the ability to convey your argument and critique others. Like all skills, practice makes perfect. When you are just starting out, it is sometimes difficult to clearly convey your point confidently. The first step in gaining self-confidence is talking with your mentor and lab mates. This group will be most familiar with your work and can offer a detailed perspective on the project. The casual discussions that naturally occur in the laboratory and among your scientific friends lay the foundation for effective communication. Moreover, new and interesting collaborations can arise out of these interactions. My most successful and most fun collaborative projects aros...

On behalf of ISEH, please join us in sending our thanks to our Board of Directors who have completed their board service this past August. ISEH Past President Hanna Mikkola, MD, PhD USA University of California, Los Angeles Directors Shannon McKinney-Freeman, PhD USA St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Michael Milsom, PhD Germany HI-STEM gGmbH John Pimanda, PhD Australia Lowy Cancer Research Centre Please also join us in welcoming our 2019-2020 Board of Directors: Executive Committee  President Emmanuelle Passegu é , PhD (USA) - 2021 Columbia University Medical Center President-Elect  Patricia Ernst, PhD (USA) - 2022 University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center Vice President Andrew Elefanty, PhD (Australia) - 2023 Murdoch Children's Research Institute Immediate Past President Bertie Göttgens, PhD (United Kingdom) - 2020 University of Cambridge Treasurer Sarah Ellis, PhD (Australia) - 2020 Peter MacCallum Cancer ...

The 48th Annual International Society for Experimental Hematology meeting took place on 22-25 August, 2019 in Brisbane, Australia. Thank you to all of the attendees who joined us this year and celebrated the field of Hematology through research, networking and socializing with your peers. We captured many moments of the Annual Meeting and we are very excited to share them with you. Thank you to Jess Gottgens and all of our photographers for taking these photos. To view more pictures please view our Google Photos Album . We hope to see you all in New York in 2020! 

Each month, Simply Blood spotlights a lab focused on the research of basic hematology, immunology, stem cell research, cell and gene therapy, and other related aspects. Get to know these different labs around the world! This month, we are featuring the Lancrin Lab at EMBL Rome - Epigenetics and Neurobiology Unit. 1. How long have you had your lab? I have started my lab about 8 years ago. 2. How many members make up your lab?  Students/postdocs? I have seven lab members including one lab manager, one PhD student, two Master students and three research assistants. 3. What is the major research theme of your lab? Our major research goal is to understand our hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are produced during embryonic development. This happens through a process called endothelial to hematopoietic transition (EHT) when HSCs emerge from endothelial cells, the building blocks of blood vessels. This moment is critical because this is when our pool of HSCs is established for the...

My scientific career has been rather unconventional. After completion of a Masters Degree in Science at the University of Melbourne, Australia, I commenced full-time employment as a research assistant performing electron microscopy to investigate megakaryopoiesis at Australia’s largest comprehensive cancer centre, the Peter MacCallum, (often abbreviated to ‘Peter Mac’). Although it was always my personal goal to undertake a PhD, it was impractical for me as my priority was to start a family and be a mum. Additionally, back then the grant funding bodies in Australia did not take career disruptions into account. Notably, today the option to provide evidence of a career disruption is an integral component of most Australian grant applications, signifying that gender equity is being taken more seriously. After the birth of twin daughters in 1990, I transitioned to working part-time and continued to work part-time over the next 11 years whilst enjoying being a mum to the twins and two s...