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 Machlus Lab at Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women’s Hospital! 

1. How long has your lab been open?  The Machlus Lab has been open for about 2.5 years! 
2. What is the current composition of the Machlus lab?  We are still small, with 2 postdocs and 2 research technicians. However, we are part of a larger group- the BWH Platelet Group- with 4 different PIs working on platelets, megakaryocytes, and hematopoiesis. We share space and have lab meetings together, so it feels like one big happy family!
3. What are the overarching research goals of the Machlus Lab? Ultimately, we aim to determine what triggers megakaryocytes to make platelets in both normal physiology and inflammatory conditions such as autoimmune diseases. If we can understand …

Exploring Experimental Hematology: Single-cell transcriptome in chronic myeloid leukemia: pseudotime analysis reveals evidence of embryonic and transitional stem cell states
In this issue of Simply Blood, David Stachura is exploring Experimental Hematology by highlighting and deconstructing one of the journal’s latest manuscripts by first author Sarah Pagliaro, from the laboratory of Ali G. Turhan [https://www.exphem.org/article/S0301-472X(20)30142-9/].
Reasons you should read this paper:
About 15% of adult leukemia is categorized as Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML).  It’s a clonal hematopoietic disease that usually results from a t(9;22) chromosomal translocation, causing the formation of the BCR-ABL oncogene.  This tyrosine kinase (TK) is responsible for activating downstream molecular pathways that allow the uncontrollable growth of cancer cells.  While tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) drugs that can slow and stop the progression of the disease exist, many patients become immune to these…

On behalf of the Awards Committee, ISEH would like to congratulate the recipients of the 2020 ISEH Honorific Awards, which will be presented at the ISEH 2020 Virtual Scientific Meeting:
2020 Donald Metcalf Award Winner: Harvey Lodish
As lead author of the textbook Molecular Cell Biology Harvey Lodish is probably one of the most widely recognized scientists from the field of Experimental Hematology. For over thirty years, Harvey’s textbook has been a companion for generations of undergraduate biology, biochemistry, medical students, with the 9th edition soon to come out. Harvey’s long track record starts with his first research paper, an abstract of work performed at Case Medical School while he was still in high school, on active transport of potassium in red cells, which was published 60 years ago. Harvey has worked with some of the top hematologists in the world, beginning with David Nathan, who did a sabbatical in his laboratory in 1970, which lead to one of the first papers elucidat…

To the ISEH Community: Dear friends and colleagues,
I hope that you all have remained well during these unprecedented times. Over the last few months, our international scientific community has faced concerns over funding, lab shut-downs and re-opening plans, staying connected to lab members and the broader scientific community, and more recently social unrest. In light of all of this, I am truly impressed with our ingenuity and dedication to staying connected and abreast of the latest science. New avenues to view and present our research stories have grown out of necessity in this pandemic. Now, more than ever, our members are seeking an inclusive community to share with and learn from one another.In this spirit, I am excited to share some new details for our first Virtual ISEH 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting, which will take place on 19-21 August 2020.Our three-day ISEH 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting will include live broadcasts twice daily to maximize opportunities for m…

On May 8th, ISEH hosted our second installation of a ‘Happy Hour’ webinar to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on academic laboratories across the world. Our initial happy hour was focused on laboratories in the United States and Europe, where this installation provided insight from Japan, Australia and Europe. Led by an impromptu panel of investigators (Ayako Nakamura-Ishizu, Louise Purton, Carl Walkley, Atsushi Iwama, Mark Dawson, and Claudia Waskow), we discussed the impact the global pandemic on our laboratory operations and plans, our careers and those of trainees, and transitioning to work from home.  ISEH Headquarters staff answered questions on the side in the parallel chat conversation.
We are looking forward to holding another virtual meeting in the coming weeks to touch on these issues and new challenges faced by our trainee and junior PI faculty all over the world. Below are some highlight from the discussion:

Although most panelists faced a total shutdown of laboratory researc…

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 Murphy Lab at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia.

How long have you had your lab?
4 years

How many members make up your lab?  Students/postdocs?
We currently have 3 postdocs, 5 Ph.D. students, and 2 Honours students.

What is the major research theme of your lab?
My lab focuses on how chronic inflammatory disorders promote the enhanced production of myeloid cells. This is largely in the context of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the associated co-morbidities and dietary risk-factors. This is important as we and others have shown over the past 5-10 years that enhanced production of myeloid cells directly influences CVD. Thus, understanding the different mechanisms each risk-factor utilizes to communicate with the h…