Minority Medical Students Receive Support to Pursue Hematology Research

WASHINGTON, June 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announces the selection of 14 participants for its 2010 Minority Medical Student Award Program (MMSAP), which encourages minority medical students to purse an interest in hematology research. Award recipients will each receive the support of a research mentor and a career-development mentor, travel stipends to attend the ASH annual meeting, and a subscription to the scientific journal Blood, the official journal of ASH.

"This award helps encourage the top students from traditionally underrepresented groups to pursue careers in hematology research," said ASH President Hal Broxmeyer, PhD. "Since its introduction in 2004, the MMSAP has benefited both the recipients and the field of hematology as a whole."

For an eight- to 12-week period, MMSAP participants will work closely with their mentors on a hematology-related research project. The subjects to be investigated by this year's students include

human embryonic stem cells, leukemia, thrombocytopenic purpura, cord blood transplantation, and multiple myeloma. The awardees will also be given the opportunity to present the results of their research at ASH's annual meeting in December, one of the largest medical meetings in the country with more than 20,000 attendees.

The 2010 MMSAP participants are:

• Imo Akpan, University of Illinois at Chicago
• May Cho, Meharry Medical College
• Tiffany Jackson, Mercer University School of Medicine
• Courtney Nicole Johnson, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
• Tiana Carrillo, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Drees Griffin Jr., University of Alabama School of Medicine
• Michelle Long, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Myntee Ngangana, The Ohio State University College of Medicine
• Jennifer Nichols, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Kandyce Pearson, University of Iowa
• Stacey Pereira, Rush Medical College
• Pablo N. Quintana, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Vanessa Sarfoh, University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
• Ngozidilenna Wilkins, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

The program is offered to medical students from the United States and Canada in the early years of their DO, MD, or MD/PhD programs. For more information about the MMSAP, visit www.hematology.org/Awards/MMSAP/2624.aspx.

To arrange an interview with an MMSAP awardee, please contact Wendy Stokes at 202-552-4927 or [email protected].

Genentech BioOncology has generously supported this program with a grant through 2012.

The American Society of Hematology (www.hematology.org) is the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. ASH provides Blood: The Vital Connection (www.bloodthevitalconnection.org), a credible online resource addressing bleeding and clotting disorders, anemia, and cancer. The official journal of ASH is Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online.

SOURCE American Society of Hematology