American Society of Hematology awards grants to Francesca Ferraro, Jaebok Choi
Two WashU Medicine investigators at Siteman Cancer Center, based at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, have been awarded prestigious grants from the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world’s largest professional society serving clinicians and scientists working to conquer blood diseases.
Francesca Ferraro, MD, PhD, and Jaebok Choi, PhD, both assistant professors of medicine at WashU Medicine and research members at Siteman Cancer Center, each received an Award for Research Careers in Hematology (ARCH). The merit-based grants provide $150,000 in funding and may be used over one to three years. Separately, Ferraro and Choi study different strategies to improve treatments and outcomes for patients diagnosed with leukemia.
They are among 33 awardees announced by ASH on Aug. 25. Collectively, their research is aimed and both hematologic malignancies, such as pediatric and adult leukemia, and benign conditions, including sickle cell disease and neonatal anemia. Together, WashU Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center are one of only four institutions to have two researchers named to the awardee list.
“This group of researchers represents the best of the best, and their science has the potential to make a great difference in our understanding of hematologic conditions,” said ASH President Robert Negrin, MD. “By investing in these researchers now, we are keeping critical science moving forward and making it clear that patients cannot be left waiting for progress.”
Ferraro, who treats patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other blood cancers at Siteman Cancer Center, is researching cell mutations that contribute to the development and progression of AML. She and her lab aim to identify mutation-specific vulnerabilities that could be targeted in personalized approaches to improve the effectiveness of current chemotherapies.
Choi focuses on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious complication where the immune cells of a stem cell donor attack a transplant recipient’s healthy tissues. His research aims to identify novel genes that may be blocked genetically or with therapeutic drugs to prevent GvHD while maintaining or enhancing the benefits of stem cell transplantation.
ASH counts more than 18,000 members from nearly 100 countries and hosts an annual conference that regularly highlights scientific and clinical advances of world-renowned WashU Medicine investigators at Siteman Cancer Center. The 68th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition is Dec. 12-15 in New Orleans and will spotlight Ferraro and Choi and their newly funded research.