simply blood

Inflammation is a double-edged sword. Inflammatory signals are needed to fight infections, yet too much can contribute to hematologic diseases such as bone marrow failure and malignancy. In recent years since the discoveries from our group and the group of Peggy Goodell that the pro-inflammatory cytokines Interferonα (IFNα) and IFNγ lead to activation of quiescent hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in vivo , there has been a revival to uncover the role of these cytokines in the HSCs and the hematopoietic system as a whole. A recent webinar from ISEH entitled “ The Role of Inflammatory Signals in Embryonic HSC Development and Adult HSC Function ” presents work exploring the role of inflammation in disease and development from leaders in the field- Markus Manz (University Hospital in Zurich), Trista North (Harvard Medical School), and moderated by Katherine King (Baylor College of Medicine). In general, pro-inflammatory cytokines are produced by cells of the immune system in response to...

You finally got hired as an assistant professor/group leader! Congratulations are in order. You feel like you achieved a great accomplishment and rightly so. We can assume that you are a wonderful scientist, with a solid CV and interesting ideas. You also managed to convince other colleagues that this is the case. Once more: well done… However, it is at this time point that the biggest challenge begins. And probably you are not adequately prepared. From now on, you don’t need to be only a good scientist, but also a genial manager. Most likely you are not prepared for all these skills that you are assumed to possess, although you were never trained to be a combo of manager, psychologist, negotiator. In addition, you have to be successful enough quickly enough, because the clock for your tenure or contract is ticking… Breathe! You are not the only one who faces this challenge. The good news is that more and more places have recognized this shortcoming in the education of a new PI and t...

Last summer, former ISEH President Paul Frenette asked me to establish an online course to help explain the major themes of hematology to newcomers in the field – the idea took hold and today we are launching Hematology 101 .  Featuring video lectures from international leaders in the field (David Scadden, Connie Eaves, Elisa Laurenti, Katrin Ottersbach, and Gerald de Haan) this course hope to break new terrain in society-driven teaching and learning. What is Hematology 101 ? It’s pretty much what it says on the tin.  World-leading experts have been recruited from within the ISEH membership to help articulate the major themes in hematology and to review the most important tools used to define stem cells and their progeny.  The goal is to provide a permanent and dynamic resource – providing a foundation on which future researchers can build.   All slides and videos are available  here and I have summarized the first set of course modules below.  ...