The Minority Medical Student Award Program (MMSAP) encourages minority medical students to pursue an interest in hematology research. For an eight- to 12-week period, MMSAP participants work closely with their mentors on a hematology-related research project. The subjects investigated by this year’s students include Waldenström macroglobulinemia, sickle cell anemia, CLL disease progression, and refractory anemia. The awardees will have the opportunity to present the results of their research at ASH’s annual meeting in December. Each award recipient also receives the support of a research mentor and a career-development mentor, travel stipends to attend the annual meeting, and subscriptions to The Hematologist and Blood.
The 2011 MMSAP award recipients are:
Steven OvuSecond-Year ParticipantTexas A&M Health Science Center – College of MedicineResearch Project: Study of clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of acute chest syndrome in sickle cell disease
Maura R. MunozThe Ohio State UniversityResearch Project: In vitro studies of a new bortezomib formulation against acute myeloid leukemia
Ryanne BrownBaylor College of MedicineResearch Project:Characterization of the VWF-GPIbα binding-initiated signaling pathway that results in platelet activation and fibrin(ogen)-αIIbβIII interaction under high shear stress
Debora Zamora-OlivenciaSan Juan Bautista School of MedicineResearch Project:Evaluation of safer lentivirus vectors for a successful sickle cell disease gene therapy
Christopher RombaoaTufts University School of MedicineResearch Project: Targeting miRNA-155 in Waldenström macroglobulinemia
Hyunjoo LeeStony Brook University School of MedicineResearch Project: Effect of polymorphisms in p53 pathway proteins and CLL disease progression
Lilian MsambichakaUniversity of Minnesota Medical SchoolResearch Project: Characteristics and mechanism of pain in sickle cell disease
Ko Ko MaungEast Tennessee State University Quillen College of MedicineResearch Project: Structural requirements of LDB1 function in erythroid differentiation
Nicole DiazUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoResearch Project: Cell line model of refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts developed through inappropriate iron accumulation by silencing of iron processing genes
Yakisha ParteeMeharry Medical CollegeResearch Project: Mitochondrial DNA mutations in sickle cell disease
Oyinade AderibigbeUniversity of Pennsylvania School of MedicineResearch Project: Influenza in pediatric patients with sickle cell disease
