By Jennifer Grants, Postdoctoral Fellow, Karsan Lab

With support provided by a CBR Post-Doc Travel Award, I had the opportunity to attend the 59^th American Society of Hematology Meeting from December 9^th to 12^th in Atlanta, GA. This is one of the most comprehensive international hematology conferences and attracted approximately 20,000 hematology researchers and physicians. The meeting covered various exciting topics, including molecular mechanisms in normal hematopoiesis and in hematological disease, novel therapies, and clinical trial reports.

I had the opportunity to deliver an oral presentation describing a single-cell-resolution study of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function in a mouse model that exhibits chronic inflammation due to loss of a gene commonly deleted in myeloid leukemia patients. My study provided evidence that this genetic lesion, which affects a gene called miR-146a, can alter HSC function and cell population structure far prior to the onset of overt disease symptoms, and that reducing inflammation can prevent this HSC dysfunction. These results provided insight into the mechanisms by which miR-146a loss initiates myeloid leukemia, and suggested that myeloid leukemia patients with loss of miR-146a could potentially benefit from anti-inflammatory drugs in addition to standard chemotherapy. My work was of interest to other attendees at the conference, and I had the excellent opportunity to discuss my results and share ideas with other researchers in my field.

Atlanta, GA