Hana Andrlova, MD, is one of ASTCT's 2021 New Investigator Award recipients. The New Investigator Award encourages clinical or laboratory research of young investigators and is used to fund research costs or salary. The award — $30,000 per year, for two years — is to be used to support the investigator’s salary for his or her research effort. Alternatively, the award may be used for direct support of research costs. ASTCT has funded over 65 new investigators through this program. 

We asked Dr. Andrlova a few questions around what winning this award means to her and her career. 

What does receiving this award mean to you?

It is a big honor to be selected for the ASTCT New Investigator Award among such a competitive field of applications. It reinforces my motivation to work hard on a project that I was already passionate about to make sure I can contribute my piece to the puzzle of strategies to improve the transplantation and cellular therapy.

How do you hope to advance the science of transplantation and cellular therapy?

I am using preclinical models to optimize a novel orthogonal receptor-cytokine signaling strategy to expand precursor T cells in vivo, with the goal of improving immune reconstitution after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. I also plan to use precursor T cells as an alternative CAR T cell therapy. I hope these strategies will ultimately lead to clinical therapies for improving immune reconstitution as well as lead to a new way of combating relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the ASTCT community with regard to supporting the New Investigator Award?

I am very grateful and honored to receive this award. I think it is fantastic that ASTCT chooses to support new projects being led by young researchers who are trying to launch their careers in academic medicine.

Would you like to help budding investigators like Dr. Joshua Brandstadter? Give to ASTCT and help push someone's career forward. 

Tags: BMT, transplantation, Cellular therapy, New investigator, Research, Donate, Give