The ASH Hematology Inclusion Pathway (HIP), the successor program to the ASH Minority Recruitment Initiative (MRI), offers a comprehensive 13-year longitudinal career pathway of awards that strives to ensure that hematology reflects and serves the diverse world we live in — from medical students to mid-career professionals.
ASH remains committed to awards and programs that have uplifted hematology professionals for the past 20 years, and the new HIP initiative better aligns with the Society’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It reflects an evolving understanding of the communities that are underrepresented in hematology.
With HIP, ASH continues to foster and empower a diverse new generation of leaders in hematology.
2024 HIP Medical Student Award
This award provides research funding for medical students under the supervision of a mentor. This year, 12 students enrolled in DO, MD, or MD/PhD programs in the U.S. or Canada participated in the Summer Experience, Flexible Experience, or Yearlong Experience.
SUMMER EXPERIENCE PARTICIPANTS
Valeria Brown
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Investigating the Role of Long Interspersed Element-1 (LINE-1) in Age-Related Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP) Driven by JAK2 V617F Mutation
Research Mentor: Patrycja Dubielecka, PhD
Career Development Mentor: Roger Belizaire, MD, PhD
Tony Owusu
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Bleeding and Thrombosis in Patients With Cancer and Acute Venous Thromboembolism Requiring Urgent Procedures
Research Mentor: Rushad Patell, MBBS
Career Development Mentor: Marc Carrier, MD
Alex Pollock
Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Histone Deacetylase 6 Inhibition to Prevent Sickle Cell Pain
Research Mentor: Joan Beckman, MD, PhD
Career Development Mentor: Deepika Darbari, MBBS, MS
FLEX EXPERIENCE PARTICIPANTS
Abigail Doyinsade Awodele
University of Illinois at Chicago, Medicine Department
Preeclampsia and Sickle Cell Disease: Exposing Risk Factors & Long-Term Impact
Research Mentor: Santosh Saraf, MD
Career Development Mentor: Kenneth Ataga, MD
Esther Chioma Emenalom
University of California, San Diego
A Study of Postpartum Hemorrhage and a Cryoprecipitate Intervention at Hospital Central de Maputo
Research Mentor: Annette von Drygalski, MD, PharmD
Career Development Mentor: Adam Cuker, MD
Victoria Heigh
Mayo Clinic Hospital-Rochester
To Characterize the Clinicopathologic Features of Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes and Define Parameters That Can Differentiate Immune-Mediated Aplastic Anemia From Inherited Marrow Failure Syndromes
Research Mentor: Abhishek Mangaonkar, MBBS
Career Development Mentor: Abner Louissaint, MD, PhD
Oluwafunke Kolawole
CUNY School of Medicine
Iron Restriction Via Iron Chelation on Hematological Outcomes in Sickle Cell-Hemoglobin C (HbSC) Disease
Research Mentor: Rasheda Browne, MD
Career Development Mentor: Natasha Archer, MD, MPH
Rachelle Monteau
CUNY School of Medicine
Outcomes of Adult ALL/LBL Patients From Diverse Background Treated in the United States Between 2000 and 2022
Research Mentor: Rose Calixte, PhD
Career Development Mentor: James Foran, MD
Omonike Oyelola
University of Connecticut
Assessing Disease-Specific Alterations Within the Bone Marrow Microenvironment in JAK2V617F Dependent Neoplasms Through Single Cell Transcriptomics
Research Mentor: Patrycja Dubielecka, PhD
Career Development Mentor: Angela Dispenzieri, MD
Michael Pineda
Harvard Medical School
Inducible Anti-CCR4 Producing CAR-T Cells for Specific Cancer Treg Ablation
Research Mentor: Eric Smith, MD, PhD
Career Development Mentor: Melody Smith, MD, MS
Kevin Reyes
University of California, San Francisco
The Role of Immunogenomics on the Sequencing, Scheduling and Dosing of T-Cell Redirection Therapies in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Research Mentor: Ajai Chari, MD
Career Development Mentor: Ashley Rosko, MD
YEARLONG EXPERIENCE
Oluwaseun Awosanya
University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Effects of Opioid Use on the Renal Function of Patients With Sickle Cell Disease
Research Mentor: Kalpna Gupta, PhD
Career Development Mentor: Linda Burns, MD
2024 HIP Resident Award
This program supports first- and second-year medical residents from communities underrepresented in hematology across the U.S. and Canada, providing participants with a stipend to conduct research and to present their research at the ASH annual meeting. Residents also receive mentorship from ASH members, gain valuable hematology knowledge, and benefit from complimentary ASH membership.
Sarah Addison, MD, BS
The Washington University
Assessing Changes in Financial Toxicity Over Time in Patients With Multiple Myeloma
Research Mentor: Ashley Rosko, MD
Career Development Mentor: Leon Bernal-Mizrachi, MD
Maria Albuja Altamirano, MD
Lincoln Hospital
Incidence of Thrombotic and Bleeding Complications in Patients With Cancer Undergoing Lower Extremity Arthroplasty, an Administrative Database Study
Research Mentor: Rushad Patell, MBBS
Career Development Mentor: Henny Billett, MD
Valentina Ardila, MD
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
The Impact of Obesity on Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease
Research Mentor: Betty Hamilton, MD
Career Development Mentor: Christopher Flowers, MD, MSc
Vivian Altiery De Jesus, MD
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Inc.
Characterizing the Effect of CD19-Directed Bispecific Antibody (Blinatumomab) Given in Combination With Checkpoint Inhibitors on the Outcomes of Patients with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Research Mentor: Ivana Gojo, MD
Career Development Mentor: Robert Baiocchi, MD
Cilomar Martins De Oliveira Filho, MD
Mass General Brigham Incorporated
TP53 Mutations and Their Impact on Prognosis for Patients With Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
Research Mentor: Ann Mullally, MD
Career Development Mentor: Bhavana Bhatnagar, DO
Luis Garcia, MD, MS
University of California, San Francisco
Single Institution Experience With a Consultative Model of Geriatric Assessment in Patients With Hematologic Malignancies Undergoing Bone Marrow Transplant or Cellular Therapy
Research Mentor: Rebecca Olin, MD
Career Development Mentor: Damiano Rondelli, MD
Kelly Meza, MD
Baylor College of Medicine
Retrospective Analysis of the PET/CT Imaging Features of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (PTCL)
Research Mentor: Luis Malpica Castillo, MD
Career Development Mentor: Jacqueline Barrientos, MD
Michelle Nwachukwu, DO
University of Illinois Chicago
The Impact of Race and Structural Racism on Molecular Subtypes and Survival Outcomes in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients
Research Mentor: Carlos Galvez, MD
Career Development Mentor: Laura Michaelis, MD
Joel Ofori, MD
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Characterizing Renal Tropism in Children With Transplant-Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy (TA-TMA) and the Long-Term Impact of Renal Involvement
Research Mentor: Satheesh Chonat, MD
Career Development Mentor: Russell Ware, MD, PhD
Ayobami Olafimihan, MBBS
John H Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County
Risk and Trends of Cancer in Sickle Cell Disease: A Multi-Year Year United States Population-Based Study
Research Mentor: Lewis Hsu, MD, PhD
Career Development Mentor: Andrew Campbell, MD
Halimat Olaniyan, MD
Indiana University Health, Inc.
TETRIS: Timing of Exchange Transfusions in Sickle Cell Disease
Research Mentor: Seethal Jacob, MD, MS
Career Development Mentor: Laura Decastro, MD
Joane Titus, MD, MS
UCF HCA /GME Consortium
Retrospective Review of Care for Black/African American Veterans With Multiple Myeloma at the Orlando VA
Research Mentor: Allison Carilli, MD
Career Development Mentor: Yvonne Efebera, MD
Ifeanyi Uche, MBBS
The Brookdale Hospital Medical Center
Examining the Impact of Body Mass Index on Outcomes in Young Adults With Sickle Cell Disease: A Single-Center Study
Research Mentor: Jen-Chin Wang, MD
Career Development Mentor: Maria del Pilar Aguinaga, PhD
2024 HIP Graduate Student Award
This award encourages graduate students from communities underrepresented in hematology in the U.S. and Canada to pursue a career in academic hematology. It is available to students conducting research on hematology-focused projects and is open to doctoral students in their first, second, or third year of graduate school at the time of application. The award provides an annual stipend for a two-year period that can be used for a tuition/salary/stipend of up to 70% of the award's value, research, training-related expenses (including health insurance), and travel to the ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition.
Corbin Azucenas, BS
University of Cincinnati
Inducible Codanin-1 Knockout: An Adult Mouse Model of Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia Type-I
Mentor: Theodosia Kalfa, MD, PhD
Daniela Ortiz Chavez, BA, BS
The Regents of University of Colorado
Translational Control of FLT3-Mutated AML Cell Survival
Mentor: James Degregori, PhD
Jessica Diarra, BS
Stanford University School of Medicine
The Role of Regulatory T Cells in the Reconstitution of the Bone Marrow Niche After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Mentor: Everett Meyer, MD, PhD
Jether Amos Espinosa, BA
Yale University
Implicating the SPOC Domain of RBM15 in RBM15-MKL1 Fusion Protein-Induced Acute Megakaryoblastic Leukemia
Mentor: Diane Krause, MD, PhD
Amara Pang, BS
Oregon Health and Science University
Role of Mutant ASXL1 in KIT-Mutant Systemic Mastocytosis
Mentor: Julia Maxson, PhD
Justin Thomas, BSc, MS
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
CD90 as a Target for Gene and Cell Therapies
Mentor: Hans-Peter Kiem, MD, PhD
Briana Turner, BA
Weill Cornell Medical College
The Effect of Nutrient Source on IDH2-Driven Metabolism in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Mentor: Michael Kharas, PhD
Emily Villalpando, BS
The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc.
Unraveling Fetal Hemoglobin Regulation Through Multiplexed Base Editing in Primary Hematopoietic Cells
Mentor: Vijay Sankaran, MD, PhD
2024 HIP Fellow Award
Nowah Afangbedji, PhD
Stanford University
ß-globin Gene Replacement and Enhancement as a Curative Therapy for ß-Hemoglobinopathies
Mentor: Matthew Porteus, MD, PhD
Jennifer Afranie-Sakyi, MD
Yale University
The Association of Pain, Neurocognition, and Silent Cerebral Infarcts in Adults With Sickle Cell Disease
Mentor: Cecelia Calhoun, MD, MBA, MPH
Qierra Brockman, PhD
MD Anderson
Dissecting Donor-CHIP Regulatory Networks to Enhance GvL Efficacy
Mentor: Pavan Bachireddy, MD
Eduarda Grinsztejn, MD
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Thrombosis Risk Assessment in Transgender Women on Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy
Mentor: Evi Stavrou, MD
Audra Iness, MD, PhD
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Defining Mechanisms of Immune Escape for Measurable Residual Disease in AML
Mentor: Pavan Bachireddy, MD
Ajibike Lapite, MD, MPH
Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers
Clonal Hematopoiesis: A Global Perspective
Mentor: Katherine King, MD, PhD
Maria Leon-Camarena, MD
Emory University
Impact of Race and HLA Matching on Outcomes After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant
Mentor: Amelia Langston, MD
Allison Taylor, MD, MS
Duke University Health System, Inc.
Exploring the Factors That Influence Conditioning Chemotherapy Intensity in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant, and Evaluating the Impact on Outcomes: Do Race and Ethnicity Play a Role?
Mentor: Sanghee Hong, MD
Franco Castillo Tokumori, MD
New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine
Measuring MPN Stem and Progenitor Cell Clonal Fitness in a Clinically Feasible Way
Mentor: Joseph Scandura, MD, PhD, MS
ASH-Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program
ASH partners with the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support the development of medical school hematology faculty from historically marginalized backgrounds and enhance their influence as leaders, researchers, and advisors. The program offers four years of postdoctoral research support, including an annual grant for research activities, the guidance of a National Advisory Committee mentor, complimentary ASH membership, and a stipend to support attendance at both the ASH and award annual meetings for the four years.
Michelle Schoettler, MD
Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University
