08.03.21

When Awards Are More Than Just Awards

Colleagues and Friends,

As the ongoing pandemic has forced us to find new ways to connect with our community, your ASTCT leaders have also been thinking about new ways to ensure we continue to mentor and support the next generation of transplantation leaders.

This got me thinking about the value of our awards program – including receiving an award, applying for an award and supporting an award with a donation.

ASTCT offers multiple awards, including SIG awards, New Investigator awards, travel grants and scholarships. What is the real value of these awards? It’s not just about recognition or funding. It’s also about broadening our community to ensure more people gain access to our education. It’s about bringing new ideas, breakthroughs and perspectives into the transplantation and cellular therapy field. It’s about ensuring we’re connecting those newer to transplantation with the “giants” in the field. And it’s about the opportunity for you to showcase your work and findings – and in doing so, help push the science of transplantation forward and advance your career.

Simply put, it’s about paving the way for our members’ future, the future of transplantation, and the future of ASTCT.

We recently spoke with Dr. Hana Andrlova, one of ASTCT's 2021 New Investigator Award recipients. Dr. Andrlova is 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. 

When asked what receiving support for her research through the New Investigators Award meant to her, her comments echoed what we’re trying to accomplish:

“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.”

We’ll be asking for your support of our awards in the future – through applying, spreading the word and through donating. When we do, I hope you’ll consider taking action. Sure, it means carving out time for an application, a note to a colleague or even making a donation. But I hope you’ll come to realize that these awards can mean so much to our community, and potentially to you.

Stella Davies, MBBS, PhD

Give to New Investigators.

Tags: SIG, astct, President, New investigator, Donate, Transplant, cell therapy, Give, Special interest group, august, 2021, awards, support

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