Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand - Congratulations To This Year's Awards Recipients!

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Congratulations To This Year's Awards Recipients!

19 Nov 2024 11:58 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

Blood 2024 was a huge success, with compliments received from both delegates and sponsors, saying that this was a very friendly and collaborative conference.

One of the most important, rewarding and positive aspects of the Society is the support we provide for members to pursue haematology research through our Scholarships and Fellowships programs.

It is with great pleasure that we congratulate this year's recipients.

HSANZ LEUKAEMIA FOUNDATION NEW INVESTIGATOR PHD SCHOLARSHIPS 2024 FOR 2025

Elizabeth Goodall

Elizabeth Goodall is a clinical haematologist and early career researcher at Monash Health, with specific interest in the patient’s end-to-end experience throughout their journey of lymphoma. Her PhD will examine the current gaps in Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PRO/Ms) collection and reporting, and then develop a more uniform reporting structure to accurately measure the patient’s experience during their cancer care. She aims to develop a framework that allows the streamlined use of patient-reported information to guide future drug development for better cancer therapies.

Sean Harrop

Sean Harrop is a dual-trained haematologist, currently undertaking a Fellowship in Aggressive Lymphoma at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. He has research interests in novel immunotherapies in lymphoma and the mechanisms that lead to treatment resistance.

It is still unclear how CD4+ T cells contribute to killing DLBCL tumour cells after TCE treatment and if, in some circumstances, they have deleterious effects leading to disease progression or relapse. In his PhD project, Sean aims to dissect these T cell responses to TCE therapy and identify new immune targets for future combination therapies for DLBCL patients.

Stephen Ma

Stephen Ma graduated from University of Melbourne then completed his basic physician training at Western Health, before embarking on dual haematology advanced training at a number of Victorian tertiary centres. Stephen also holds a Diploma in Music from the University of Melbourne.

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia is an aggressive blood cancer with poor survival, and outcome is especially guarded when mutation in a gene called TP53 is present. TP53 is common in older patients and patients who develop AML following prior chemo- or radiotherapy, and therefore represents the greatest challenge in AML patients. Stephen will begin his PhD studies at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute where he will interrogate the molecular events that lead to the development of TP53-mutated AML using mouse models and highly sophisticated technologies. He will test a number of pre-emptive strategies to prevent leukaemia development, including a TP53 targeted cancer vaccine.

HSANZ New Investigator PhD Scholarship 2024 for 2025

Nathanael Lucas

Nathanael Lucas is a final year Joint FRACP/FRCPA Paediatric Haematology trainee who completed the majority of his training in Christchurch, New Zealand, and recently completed a Fellowship in Paediatric Haematology/Cellular Therapies at Manchester Children’s Hospital. He has a special interest in Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes and optimising treatment for New Zealand patients.

Causes of Bone Marrow Failure (BMF) can be inherited or acquired. Inherited conditions often present at earlier ages and may be associated with additional clinical features and specific genetic findings in some, but not all, patients. In contrast, onset of acquired BMF can occur at any age. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve treatment outcomes of these conditions, some of which can progress to haematological and other cancers. Nathanael aims to expand the Aplastic Anaemia & Other Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes Registry (AAR) to include and analyse data from New Zealand, then create a model that can help determine whether a patient is more likely to have a germline or acquired BMF. Lastly, he wants to examine certain mutations known or suspected to be more prevalent in indigenous populations, and understand the implications of these diseases for patients and their families.

HSANZ New Investigator Clinical Fellowships 2024 for 2025 - we acknowledge support from Janssen and Novartis

Katie Lewis

Katie Lewis is an early career clinical and laboratory haematologist based in Perth, Western Australia. Her professional interests include genetic haematopathology, flow cytometry and the diagnosis and management of acute leukaemias. She is the recipient of a 2024 Western Australian Cancer Fellowship and is currently undertaking twelve months of haematopathology training in cytogenetics, to complete a RCPA extension of scope of practice certification.

Katie will travel to the UK in 2025 to undertake a combined clinical and laboratory fellowship in acute myeloid leukaemia at Guy’s Hospital London and University of Birmingham. The fellowship has a strong focus on the acquisition of advanced laboratory skills in molecular genomics and flow cytometry for measurable residual disease testing and developing clinical expertise in the management of acute myeloid leukaemia. She plans to expand laboratory services in Western Australia on her return.

Trung Ngo

Trung Ngo is a final year haematology trainee. He is interested in the intersect between myeloid malignancies and molecular studies. He will be based in the genomics laboratory at University College London Hospitals (UCLH).

Trung will focus on identifying biomarkers in myeloproliferative neoplasm with reduced life expectancy due to a predisposition to thrombosis and transformation to myelofibrosis or acute leukaemia. A clear map of the genomic landscape of essential thrombocythaemia is an area of unmet need. Trung will be based in UCLH’s spatial transcriptomics facility, where he will focus on identifying biomarkers in myeloproliferative neoplasms to aid with diagnosis and therapeutic targets.

HSANZ / ALLG Clinical Trials Fellowship 2024 for 2025

Arina Martynchyk

Arina Martynchyk is a qualified Haematologist from Ukraine. She had been working at the Department of Lymohoproliferative Diseases of the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv from 2007 to 2022, where Arina and her colleagues set up autologous stem cell transplantation. In 2022 she relocated to Australia where she is retraining as a haematologist (due to the requirement of AHPRA) and working as a Research Fellow at Austin Health and ONJ Cancer Research Institute.

Arina and her colleagues’ research project “Hearing Patient Voices in Blood Cancer Research: Patient Reported Outcome use, implementation and reporting in trials conducted by the ALLG” aims to fully analyse the use of Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs), methodology and results reported in ALLG clinical trials. The results will help to define the optimal PROs and the most appropriate timepoints of their application, improve development of new trials, aim to inform patient experience of treatments employed by the high-quality studies of the ALLG, and enhance the reputation for PRO research of this leading national trial group.

Albert Baikie Memorial Medal and Award

Yin Yuan (right), presented by President Peng Lee