ASH’s podcast offerings are just one of the many ways for members and non-members alike to stay up to date on the latest news and information in hematology. The most recent addition to ASH’s lineup of podcasts is Bringing Sickle Cell Disease to Life, a new series that will dive into the past, present, and future of sickle cell disease (SCD).
Wally Smith, MD, host
of Bringing Sickle Cell
Disease to Life.
The podcast, which premiered in March and will run until early this fall, features interviews with a diverse group of SCD stakeholders, including researchers, physicians, and individuals living with the disease, that explore the history and global effect of the disease, the need for additional providers, disparity and bias in SCD, and promising news regarding its management and treatment.
In line with ASH’s longstanding commitment to improving the outcomes for individuals living with SCD, Bringing Sickle Cell Disease to Life aims to help generate interest in the field, which suffers from a lack of specialized care providers, to ultimately improve adult patients’ access to quality SCD care.
“As part of ASH’s initiative on improving the lives of patients with SCD, we have been trying to recruit new trainees, and we’ve been trying to direct trainees, providers, and members of ASH to become more aware of SCD,” explained host Wally Smith, MD, Florence Neal Cooper Smith Professor of Sickle Cell Disease at Virginia Commonwealth University. “[SCD] has not enjoyed nearly the visibility that many other diseases have enjoyed in the general spotlight.”
By exploring many critical facets of the SCD community, such as the development of treatments, screening for newborns, and the transition from pediatric to adult care, listeners will gain a deeper understanding of the many paths by which individuals can join the battle against this disease, such as patient care, research, manufacturing, lawmaking, and advocacy.
New listeners are encouraged to go back and start from Episode 1, which details the history of the disease and includes compelling discussions with SCD pioneers and prominent researchers, including Clarice Reid, MD, former chief of the National Sickle Cell Disease Program at NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Marilyn Hughes Gaston, MD, who published the groundbreaking 1986 study that proved the effectiveness of newborn screening and long-term penicillin treatment in children with SCD.
“When you get the whole lay of the land and start to understand just how broad of a scientific endeavor [SCD] is, you’ll get excited for the science, the passion that people are bringing to the work, and the number of lives that are being saved,” Dr. Smith said. “You’ll get excited for the health equity that working in this field will yield these [individuals] who have been at the back of the bus for decades. Now it’s time to bring them to the front of the bus, to bring them to life.”
All episodes of Bringing Sickle Cell Disease to Life can be found on the ASH website at hematology.org/about/podcasts-and-apps, as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.
Check Out Our Other ASH Podcasts!
Blood: With new episodes released weekly in conjunction with each issue of Blood, the Blood podcast series highlights selected content from recent articles and studies.
The Hematologist: Stay updated on important developments in the field of hematology from ASH’s original member news magazine. Designed or the broad constituency of ASH, The Hematologist podcast provides a deeper dive into select articles from the magazine, as well as useful information about ASH programs.
Hematopoiesis: Developed by members of the ASH Trainee Council, the Hematopoiesis podcast is or trainees at all levels from medical students to residents, fellows, and doctoral students. Learn about the latest clinical and research updates, get relevant information on career pathways in hematology, and discover exciting facts about the history of hematology. The Hematopoiesis podcast accompanies the Hematopoiesis online publication.
