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Lab Spotlight: Helgason Lab

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Lab Spotlight Vignir Helgason, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow 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 Helgasson Lab at the School of Cancer Sciences at the University of Glasgow! What is the research focus of your lab? My lab focuses on basic cellular processes such as autophagy and metabolism in leukaemia. We are trying to exploit vulnerabilities in these processes and identify ways to develops better treatment options. Did you plan your career and how did it develop? No, to be honest, I never really had a master plan for my career. However, I was always good in seeking advice from people who could help me achieve my goals. During my studies at the University of Iceland, deCODE Genetics, a biopharmaceutical company based in Reykjavik, was founded, and offer

ISEH 2023 Virtual Career Fair

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Finding the postdoc position that best fits the next step in your career can be a challenge. To help put great trainees in touch with great faculty providing postdoc opportunities, the ISEH New Investigator Committee has put together the ISEH 2023 Virtual Career Fair . This live and interactive career fair will be held on Tuesday, 18 April 2023 from 15:00-17:00 CDT ( click here to see in your time zone ). This event is FREE for all PhD students and postdocs ! You do not need to be an ISEH member. Click here to register .  What is it? Participants will be sent a link to an online networking platform. This places you inside a virtual room, with each hiring PI seated at their own table. You can join a table to talk with the PI and other trainees there. This provides the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself, why you are interested in a position in their laboratory, and how you could be a good fit in their team. You will be free to move to other tables throughout the duration of the ev

ISEH 2023 Scientific Award Winners

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On behalf of the Awards Committee, ISEH would like to congratulate the recipients of the 2023 ISEH Society Scientific Awards, which will be presented at the ISEH 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting . Donald Metcalf Award Winner – Margaret (“Peggy”) A. Goodell This year, the 2023 Donald Metcalf Award goes to Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Goodell, who currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, the Vivian L. Smith Chair of Regenerative Medicine, directs and founded the Stem Cells and Regenerative (STaR) Center, and serves as a Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Molecular and Human Genetics, Pediatrics, and Pathology and Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Goodell has served as a faculty member at Baylor completing her doctoral training at the University of Cambridge with Andrew Smith and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Whitehead Institute at MIT and Harvard Medical School, under the guidance of Richard C. Mulligan. She was elected to the

How we can improve diversity in our research by understanding intersectionality with A/Prof Nada Hamad

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In undertaking our research, we seek to develop theories and models to help us better understand haematopoiesis and blood related disorders. What is overwhelmingly clear and supported by extensive data is that our research can be improved by increasing both inclusivity and diversity in our workforce 1,2 . When scientists come from diverse backgrounds, they bring with them different experiences, perspectives, and ways of thinking that enrich scientific research. For example, a diverse group of scientists might approach a problem from different angles, or ask different questions, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. To help us understand more about inclusion and diversity in our own research, the ISEH Junior Faculty Committee asked A/Prof Nada Hamad to help explain the concept of intersectionality. Dr Hamad began the webinar but outlining her personal journey and in particular an event from around 10 years ago for when she had her first child. During labour she w

A New Working Model: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

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1. Introduction Since the report of a serial of mysterious pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has already lasted for over 3 years. A lot of things have changed in our daily and professional life, most were unimaginable before this bizarre time. These include border closures, nation-wide lockdowns and people rushing to supermarkets for toilet papers. But not all changes are bad, and the future will likely embrace some of these positive changes such as flexible learning and working models and accelerated research on mRNA vaccine development and other scientific areas. In this blog post, the members of the ISEH New Investigator Committee will discuss our view on how the pandemic affect our working models as hematologists. 2. The old normal The old norm refers to the way things were done before the COVID-19 Pandemic. This would typically involve work and socialize in-person, travel freely and attend large gatherings. In academia, the old norm would

Lab Spotlight: Tikhonova Lab

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Each month, Simply Blood spotlights a lab contributing to the fields of hematology, immunology, stem cell research, cell and gene therapies, and more. Get to know groups doing cutting edge research from around the world! This month, we are featuring the Tikhonova Lab which is based out of the University of Toronto and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Canada ( https://tikhonovalab.com ). How long have you had your lab and who is currently in your group? We started in August 2020 and have been growing ever since. Our diverse and multidisciplinary team has two postdoctoral fellows, two Ph.D. students, an animal technician, part-time computational scientific associate, and a lab manager. What made you interested in pursuing a career as an academic researcher? I always valued academic research as it affords me the freedom to pursue my own ideas. You are only limited by your imagination and, at times, technology. What is the major research theme of your lab and how did you choose your lab’

ISEH 2022 Annual Scientific Meeting – Highlights from the New Investigators Committee

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For four days in September, more than 500 ISEH members travelled from 25 countries around the world to beautiful Edinburgh in Scotland for the ISEH Annual Scientific Meeting. Attendees were treated to an amazing program of speakers, and given the opportunity to network and present their work to the community in lively social events and poster sessions. The meeting also included events targeting the students and postdocs that make up the ISEH new investigator community. In this blog post, members of the ISEH New Investigator Committee summarize some of their meeting highlights: New Investigator Pre-Meeting Workshop The ISEH pre-meeting workshop allowed trainees to present their research and network within the community. We first heard five great talks from trainees, then all of the trainees presented posters. ISEH faculty were invited to the event to judge both the oral and poster presentations, so every trainee got to talk to at least three faculty about their work. The afternoon also