Faculty
Lionel Adès
France
Lionel Adès
Lionel Adès is Professor of hematology at the Hôpital Saint-Louis, and Paris Diderot University, Paris, France. He graduated in Haematology in 2001 and then undertook training in haematology at the Avicenne Hospital and the St Louis Hospital in Paris, before taking up his current position.
Pr. Adès has extensive research experience, having worked as a research fellow from 2006-2010 (INSERM, Institut Gustave Roussy) before graduated with a PhD in 2010. He is conducting several clinical and biological studies in myelodysplastic syndromes and acute leukemia. In these disorders, he has been very active in evaluating novel therapeutics and implementing clinical trials. His research has been published in numerous, well respected journals, including Journal of Clinical Oncology, New England Journal of Medicine and Blood. In addition, Lionel Adès is a member of the American Society of Hematology, the French Group of Myelodysplastic Syndromes and the AFLA Group.
Miriam Erlacher
Germany
Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
Miriam Erlacher
Current positions:
Attending physician, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Freiburg
Medical head of the Coordinating Study Center of the European Working Group of MDS and SAA in Childhood (EWOG-MDS-SAA)
Clinical focus: Non-malignant hematology, bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative syndromes, rare leukemias, tumor predisposition syndromes
Research focus: Apoptosis, hematopoiesis, leukemogenesis, bone marrow failure, genetic predisposition to hematological malignancies
Pierre Fenaux
France
Hôpital St Louis, Paris 7 University
Pierre Fenaux
Pierre Fenaux trained at the University Hospital of Lille, France, where he became Professor in Hematology in 1993. Between 2002 and 2013 he founded and was head of the clinical hematology section at Hôpital Avicenne, Paris 13 University. He then moved to Hôpital St Louis, Paris 7 University to create a new clinical hematology section for myeloid disorders in the elderly, which he currently chairs. He is involved in clinical and laboratory research in the field of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (especially promyelocytic leukemia). He is a founding member and chairman of the French-speaking MDS group (Groupe Francophone des Myélodysplasies) and of the French APL group (GT-LAP). He is also a member of the board of directors of the MDS Foundation. He is the author of numerous scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Klaus Geissler
Austria
Sigmund Freud University
Klaus Geissler
Dr. Geissler is Professor of Hemato-Oncology at the Sigmund Freud University and Director of the 5th Department of Internal Medicine/Hemato-Oncology at the Clinic Hietzing in Vienna. After having clinical training at the Medical University of Vienna (Prof. K. Lechner) and research training at the Indiana University Medical Center (Prof H. Broxmeyer), Dr. Geissler received his board certification in Internal Medicine and Hemato-Oncology. Mainly based on semisolid in vitro cultures, Dr Geissler, conducted, over many years, research programs on the regulation of normal and malignant hematopoiesis with specific emphasis on CMML. In CMML Dr. Geissler originally reported the growth factor independent myeloid colony formation which was later correlated genetically with aberrations of RAS-pathway genes and clinically with myeloproliferation, progression and transformation of disease. With this model growth factor independence, and the molecular mechanisms underlying this in vitro phenomenon, could be confirmed as a fundamental and often final step in blood cancer development. Dr. Geissler is founder of the Austrian Biodatabase for CMML (ABCMML) in which epidemiologic, hematologic, biochemical, clinical, immunophenotypic, cytogenetic, molecular and biologic data of patients with CMML are collected.
Axel Glasmacher
Germany
University of Bonn
Axel Glasmacher
Axel Glasmacher is an adjunct professor of medicine at the Univ. of Bonn where he worked in Hematology and Oncology from 1989 to 2006 with a research focus on haematological malignancies (esp. acute leukaemias, multiple myeloma) and infections in neutropenic patients. He worked from 2006-2018 as Medical Director in Germany, Vice President Medical Affairs and as Head of Global Clinical Research and Development in Hematology-Oncology. His activities included the development of risk management and medical launch plans for thalidomide and lenalidomide as well as clinical development plans and regulatory submissions for drugs like lenalidomide, azacitidine, enasidenib and luspatercept. In March 2018 he established an independent consultancy with a focus on drug development, Medical Affairs and leadership development. He has joined the Board of Directors of 4D pharma plc (UK) where he also serves as chairperson, Ryvu Therapeutics SA (Poland) and Active Biotech AB (Sweden). He is board member and treasurer of the Cancer Drug Development Forum (www.cddf.org), a non-profit organization that brings regulators, academics and pharmaceutical industry together to improve the development of new drugs for malignant diseases.
Torsten Haferlach
Germany
Torsten Haferlach
Prof Torsten Haferlach is expert in the field of leukemia, engaging in research, the development of new diagnostic tools as well as the link to treatment options. Now also introducing AI in routine workflows of leukemia diagnostics.
He spent the first part of his career as a medical doctor and hematologist, first at the university clinics in Kiel and Göttingen then at the university clinic in Munich where he acted as both the senior physician at the Department of Internal Medicine and the Head of the laboratory for leukaemia diagnostics.
In 2005 he set up the Munich Leukemia Laboratory (www.mll.com) together with three colleagues from complementary disciplines. Today the lab processes with a team of 210 employees over 90,000 blood or bone marrow samples per year, his practice treats more than 4,500 patient. He published over 580 articles in top ranking, peer-reviewed medical journals.
Shahram Kordasti
UK
King’s College London
Shahram Kordasti
Following graduation from medical school and clinical training in Internal Medicine/ Haematology, Dr Kordasti received his MSc in Medical Immunology and PhD in Cancer Immunology from King’s College London (KCL). He established the role of Tregs in MDS and their effects on disease progression and response to treatment. He continued his work at KCL and developed an interest in the immunobiology of aplastic anaemia (AA) during this time. He has been senior lecturer at King’s College London and honorary clinical haematologist at Guy’s Hospital since May 2018 and continues to study the immunobiology of Myeloid Malignancies. His main research interest is the plasticity of CD4+ T cells, their interaction with inflammatory microenvironment and their role in the immunobiology of myeloid malignancies. Computational biology, multidimensional cytometry as well as multiomics data integration for patient stratification is another focus of his research group. His clinical interests are AA, MDS and MPN.
Austin Kulasekararaj
UK
Austin Kulasekararaj
Consultant Haematologist, King’s College Hospital, London, UK
Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, King’s College London, London, UK
Clinical Interests: MDS and bone marrow failures. Leads the King’s National Paroxysmal Nocturnal Haemoglobinuria (PNH) service. Member of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Severe Aplastic Anaemia Working Party.
Translational Research: Molecular/immunological pathogenesis of MDS and aplastic anaemia, particular focus on overlap disorders. Previously Bloodwise foundation and British Society of Haematology (BSH) senior clinical research fellow.
Clinical Trials: Passionate about delivery of clinical trials. Current National CI for a number of clinical trials. Current drive is to bring therapies for PNH, AA, TP53 mutated myeloid neoplasms and improvement of thrombocytopenia. Works closely with the EMSCO group and industry partners.
Scienticific advisor for patient advocacy group (MDS UK)
Luca Malcovati
Italy
University of Pavia & IRCCS S. Matteo Hospital Foundation
Luca Malcovati
Luca Malcovati is Associate Professor of Hematology at the Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, Medical School, and consultant physician at the Department of Hematology Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia, Italy.
Luca Malcovati’s research activity has been mainly focused on the study of myeloid neoplasms, and particularly of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN). His work focused on the prognosis of MDS, and allowed to identify new prognostic factors, and to develop new prognostic scoring systems in MDS and MDS/MPN. Prof. Malcovati’s research also dealt on the study molecular basis of MDS and MDS/MPN. He made a significant contributions to identify acquired mutations in splicing factor SF3B1 in myeloid neoplasms, to determine the clinical and biological implications of driver mutations in these disorders, and to identify genetically-defined disease entities. On behalf of the European LeukemiaNet and the European Hematology Association, he coordinated the development of international evidence-based recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of MDS and MDS/MPN.
Luca Malcovati is member of the WHO Classification of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tumors Clinical Advisory Committee, of the Scientific and Strategic Board of the European Reference Network for Rare Hematologic Diseases (EuroBloodNet), of the International Working Group for Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasms, of the Steering Committee of the European Registry of Myelodysplastic Syndromes, of the Clinical Genome Program – Myeloid Malignancies.of the Board of Directors of the Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation.
Hind Medyouf
Germany
Hind Medyouf
Georg-Speyer-Haus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
&
Frankfurt Cancer Institute, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Dr Medyouf is an ERC investigator leading a research group in Frankfurt (Germany). Dr Medyouf studied Biochemistry and Genetics at the university Denis Diderot, in Paris (France) before Joining the group of Andrew Weng at the Terry Fox Laboratory in Vancouver (BC, Canada) as an HFSP fellow. In 2010, Dr Medyouf joined the team of Andreas Trumpp as an EMBO fellow at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg (Germany) to explore the importance of the microenvironment in normal and malignant hematopoiesis.
Supported by a Jose Carreras Career Award and an ERC starting grant Dr Medyouf subsequently established her independent research group in 2014 at the Georg-Speyer-Haus (Frankfurt, Germany) to dissect the role of the tumor microenvironment in leukemia and solid cancer metastasis. Her work is particularly focused on the complex cellular interactions and molecular mechanisms by which tumor cells co-opt their surrounding stroma to promote immune escape and therapeutic resistance, with the overarching goal to develop means to overcome this for the benefit of patients.
Daniel Nowak
Germany
Universitätsmedizin Mannheim
Daniel Nowak
Daniel Nowak studied Medicine at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany and started his scientific career in the Department of Hematology of Prof. Dieter Hoelzer. He began his first residency in internal Medicine and Hematology at the Charité University Hospital, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany. Subsequently, he spent a two year research fellowship in the laboratory of Prof. Philip Koeffler at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center and UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA. He then continued his clinician scientist career in the Department of Prof. Wolf-Karsten Hofmann at the Medical Faculty Mannheim of the Heidelberg University. There, he completed his board certification for Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology. Since 2017, he is full professor for Leukemia Research, clinical consultant for the MDS Center of Excellence and Head of the Molecular Tumorboard at the University Hospital Mannheim in the department of Prof. Wolf-Karsten Hofmann. His research focus is the molecular and translational characterization of myeloid hematologic neoplasms, especially MDS. Clinically, he is working on development of precision medicine approaches for hematologic and oncologic patients.
Michael Pfeilstocker
Austria
Hanusch Hospital
Michael Pfeilstocker
Michael Pfeilstöcker is consultant at the Third Department for Internal Medicine – Hematology/Oncology of Hanusch Hospital in Vienna, Austria and associate professor for medicine from the Vienna Medical University.
His research career started within the framework of the L. Boltzmann Institute for Leukemia Research and Hematology at Hanusch hospital which is meanwhile part of the L. Boltzmann Cluster Oncology.
Dr Pfeilstöcker’s research interests include theoretical and clinical aspects of haematopoiesis and studies in patients with myeloid disorders, where the main focus is on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), but also includes clinical trials in AML. He chairs the MDS working group of the Austrian Society for Hematology and Oncology and is involved in world wide collaboratory studies on this topic.
He has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals including Blood and Leukemia and is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Hematology.
Marc Raaijmakers
The Netherlands
Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam
Marc Raaijmakers
Prof. dr. Marc H.G.P. Raaijmakers, MD, PhD, is a professor of Hematology in the Department of Hematology at the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He completed postdoctoral research at the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, revealing a concept of niche-induced oncogenesis in the hematopoietic system. He (co)-authored papers and comments in leading journals including Nature, Cell, Cell Stem Cell, J. Exp. Med, Blood and Leukemia, served in the editorial boards of leading journals in the field of Hematology and provided numerous invited lectures at international meetings. He chairs the expertise center on Bone Marrow Failure and Leukemia Predisposition at the ErasmusMC, the EHA scientific working group on Genetic Predisposition in Hematologic Cancer and is a board member of the HOVON Leukemia Working Group. His laboratory studies microenvironmental contributions to hematopoietic disease, with an emphasis on bone marrow failure and leukemogenesis. He received scholar awards from the Dutch Cancer Society, the Dutch Society of Hematology, the Dutch Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society U.S.A. His clinical expertise is in bone marrow failure syndromes, MDS and acute myeloid leukemia.
Marie Robin
France
Marie Robin
Marie Robin, MD, PhD
Current position:
-Assistant in Hematology-transplantation department, Saint-Louis Hospital, Paris University, Paris, France
-Responsible of the subcommittee of MDS / Chronic Malignancies Working Party of the EBMT.
-President of the French Society of transplantation and cellular therapy (SFGM-TC)
Main domains of research: myelofibrosis and myelodysplastic syndrome / allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
Valeria Santini
Italy
University of Florence
Valeria Santini
Valeria Santini is Associate Professor of Hematology at the University of Florence, Italy. She received her medical degree from the University of Florence and became a Consultant in Haematology. She worked as fellow of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) at Dr Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center/Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She then undertook clinical training in the USA at the Leukemia Unit, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston.
Professor Santini runs the MDS Unit- Hematology- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine- AOU Careggi, University of Florence. Her interests are focused on clinical and translational research in MDS and elderly AML.
Professor Santini is President of the Fondazione Italiana per lo studio delle sindromi mielodisplastiche (FISiM) and Italian Network of MDS Registries, a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic syndromes -International Foundation (AA & MDS IF), and member of the board of GIMEMA MDS working party. She is one of the 3 KOL for MDS working group in the European Harmony 2020 research project. She is a member of the Scientific Committee of the European School of Hematology (ESH), member of the Education Committee of the Society of Hematological Oncology (SOHO) and member of the Executive Board of the Scientific Working Group on MDS of European Hematology Association (EHA). She has served for two terms on the executive board of the Italian Society of Haematology (SIE) and she has been Vice-president of the Italian Society of Experimental Haematology (SIES). She belongs to ASH, EHA and MDS Foundation. She is also an author of more than 200 peer-reviewed papers published in international journals, she is member of the Editorial board of Blood journal, and documented reviewer for high impact factor scientific journals. She has been an invited speaker at numerous international meetings including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO 2007: educational session on MDS), American Society of Hematology (ASH 2012, ASH 2016: educational sessions on MDS), European Haematology Association (EHA 2016, EHA 2020: Educational sessions on MDS) and national haematology societies of several countries.
Guillermo Sanz
Spain
Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia
Guillermo Sanz
Guillermo Sanz (Spain; 1957), Head Clinical Hematology, Hematology Department, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, Spain, has authored or coauthored more than 300 papers and 32 book chapters. His main topics of interest are myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS; molecular biology, prognostic markers & treatment), acute leukemias, and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, especially umbilical cord blood transplantation. He has made important contributions to the development of the International Prognostic Scoring System and its revised version and the International consensus criteria for evaluating response to treatment in MDS. He has served as President of the Spanish MDS cooperative group (GESMD, 2005 – 2018), leads the clinical trials of the Spanish PETHEMA cooperative group for MDS, and was scientific chair of the 14th International Symposium on MDS (Valencia, May 2017). Currently he is co-chairing the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) HARMONY & HARMONY PLUS Alliances on the use of Big Data for Better Outcomes for Hematologic Malignancies. Those projects are considered as the stars European projects in the field.
Mikkael Sekeres
USA
Mikkael Sekeres
Dr Sekeres is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hematology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He earned a medical degree and a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Dr Sekeres completed his postgraduate training at Harvard University, finishing an internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He is chair of the medical advisory board of the Aplastic Anemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) International Foundation, and formerly chaired the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee of the F.D.A, the MDS Research Fund of the Dresner Foundation, and the Cleveland Clinic Enterprise Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee, where he was also Vice-chair for Clinical Research of the cancer center. An invited speaker at numerous meetings, grand rounds, and conferences, Dr Sekeres is a member of the American Society of Hematology, where he has served on the Executive Committee, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the Southwest Oncology Group—Leukemia Committee. His research focuses on patients with MDS and older adults with acute myeloid leukemia, and he has been the national and international primary study investigator on several phase I/II/III trials. He is the author or co-author of over 350 manuscripts and 650 abstracts published in leading journals such as NEJM, Blood, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nature Genetics, Cancer Cell, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Journal of Clinical Investigation, PLoS One, and Leukemia. He was the inaugural editor-in-chief of the ASH Clinical News magazine; he is on the editorial board of several journals; has written over 50 essays for The New York Times; and has authored 7 books, including When Blood Breaks Down: Life Lessons from Leukemia (MIT Press 2020).
Eric Solary
France
Université Paris-Saclay
Eric Solary
Eric Solary is MD, full-Professor in Hematology at Paris-Saclay University, is teaching clinical and biological hematology as well as cell biology. He created a first Inserm Unit « Cell Death and Cancer » in 1999, which became the Inserm Research Centre “Lipids, Nutrition, Cancer” in 2007, and headed a doctoral school in life Sciences and two federative Institutes of Research. He was the Scientific Director of Gustave Roussy Cancer Center from 2011 to 2020 and presides over the Scientific Committee of Foundation ARC, a cancer research dedicated charity. His research has been dedicated initially to leukemic cell resistance to cytotoxic drugs, then to cell death mechanisms and the link between cell death and differentiation in the hematopoietic system. His current research is focused on monocyte differentiation and the pathogenesis of chronic myeloid malignancies, with a focus on chronic myelomonocytic leukemia.
Ulrike Steidl
USA
The Diane and Arthur B. Belfer Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research
Ulrike Steidl
Ulrich Steidl graduated from the University of Heidelberg Medical School and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany. He trained as a resident physician at the University of Duesseldorf Medical Center, Germany, and as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. He joined the Albert Einstein College of Medicine – Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, in 2008, where he currently holds appointments as a tenured Professor in the Departments of Cell Biology, and of Medicine (Oncology). Ulrich Steidl is the Program Leader of the ‘Stem Cells, Differentiation and Cancer’ program of the NCI-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center, the Associate Chair for Translational Research of the Department of Oncology at Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center, and a faculty member of the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine.
Arjan van de Loosdrecht
The Netherlands
Amsterdam UMC Universitair Medische Centra
Arjan Van De Loosdrecht
A.A. van de Loosdrecht passed Medical School (cum laude) in 1989 at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam (VUmc), The Netherlands. After a 4th years scientific laboratory training in cell biology, immunology and hematology he received his PhD graduation (cum laude) in 1993 at the department of Hematology (VUmc) on the thesis; ‘Monocyte mediated cytotoxicity in acute myeloid leukemia; Mechanisms and clinical implications’. In 1995 he graduated in Immunology. From 1993-1998 he followed clinical training in Internal Medicine followed by a fellowship in hematology (Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology at the Groningen University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands). From 2000, he is a staff member, since 2009 an associate professor and since 2012 a full professor of hematology at the department of Hematology, Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, Amsterdam. His particular scientific experiences and interests are on translational hematology. He is projectleader/principal investigator of the preclinical and translational immunotherapy programs in myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The major research lines focus on the immunopathogenesis of MDS/AML and on the development of leukemic dendritic cell vaccines for active specific immunization in patients with minimal residual disease (MRD) in AML and MDS. Since 2016 he is coordinator of HORIZON2020, AML-VACCiN program dealing with Dendritic Cell vaccination in AML and PI of the clinical program. He is project leader/principle investigator of clinical (translational) programs dealing with the treatment of low and high risk MDS. Regarding MDS, research focuses on the implementation of flow cytometry in the diagnosis, prognostication and monitoring of MDS. As such he is participant of the HORIZON2020 MDS-Right program. He is chair of the working group MDS of the Dutch Society of Cytometry on the implementation of flowcytometry in MDS and initiated a platform within the ELN on the implementation of flowcytometry in MDS in Europe. In addition, he is chair of the Database Sharing Committee of the International Working Group for Prognosis of MDS (IWG-PM) who developed the revised-IPSS for MDS.
