Hematology and Infectious Diseases

Knox Van Dyke completed his PhD in Biochemistry in the Edward A Doisy–Nobel Prize Department at Saint Louis University in 1966. He did Postdoctoral studies in the Department of Pharmacology at West Virginia University. During this time he developed the first effective drug screening system for antimalarial drugs while screening over 10,000 drugs. Mefloquine and halofantrine were recognized by this screening system and were further developed by Walter Reed and various companies as patented drugs. He has over 300 publications and 150 patents.

Hematology

Mark Roschewski received his BA from the University of Notre Dame in 1997 and MD from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2001. He completed his hematology-oncology fellowship in 2009 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) in Washington DC, where he served as the Director of Hematologic Diseases at WRAMC for 3 years. He joined the Center for Cancer Research at the NCIin 2013 where his current role is as an associate clinical investigator in the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch with research focused on aggressive lymphomas and multiple myeloma.

Hematology

Dr. Liakopoulou is a specialist in Hematology with particular interests in Hematological Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation. She holds MD and PhD degrees and has studied and worked in Greece, the UK and the US. She has served in many medical, scientific and managerial capacities, and recently completed nearly seven years as Director of Stem Cell Transplantation at the Christie NHS Trust in the UK. During her tenure, Dr. Liakopoulou oversaw a period of dramatic growth, creating one of the largest transplant programs in the country. In addition, Dr. Liakopoulou devised and implemented Quality Plans and international standards excellence for Continuous Improvement, and directed the Stem Cell Processing Laboratory and Collection Facilities. Since 2006 she has served as inspector for the Joint Accreditation Committee - International Society for Cellular Therapy & European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. She is a member of several professional organizations, and in 2009 she was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, UK, in recognition of her contributions to the field of Hematology.

Hematology

Dr. Enzi (Eun Ji) Jiang (Gang) received her M.D. from Norman Bethune College of Medicine, Jilin University, formerly Norman Bethune University of Medical Science, Changchun, China in 1987. She has completed her Ph.D. from Harbin Medical University in 1999 and postdoctoral studies from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in 2007. Dr. Jiang is working as a senior scientist at Division of Hematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA. She has published more than 15 papers in reputed journals related to mesenchymal stem cells and leukemia and contributed to a book chapter (Chapter 4: Molecular Pathogenesis of ALL, Contemporary Management of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, In Press 2013). Dr. Jiang is serving as an editorial board member for the Journal of Blood Disorders and Transfusion. Her research interests include: mouse models of pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia and its application in preclinical evaluation of novel anticancer therapy, stem cell niches, integrins, survivin, drug resistance, minimal residual disease, small molecule inhibitors of Wnt signaling pathway, mesenchymal stem cells isolation and application in regenerative medicine such as muscular dystrophy

Dr. Enzi Jiang research is on Mouse models of pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia and its application in preclinical evaluation of novel anticancer therapy, stem cell niches, integrins, survivin, drug resistance, minimal residual disease, small molecule inhibitors of Wnt signaling pathway, mesenchymal stem cells isolation and application in regenerative medicine such as muscular dystrophy.

Shimon Slavin, MD, Professor of Medicine is currently serving as the Medical & Scientific Director of the International Center for Cell Therapy & Cancer Immunotherapy (CTCI), Tel Aviv, Israel. He pioneered the use of immunotherapy mediated by donor lymphocytes and innovative methods for stem cell transplantation for malignant and non-malignant disorders including treatment of autoimmune diseases and more recently, using multi-potent stem cells for regenerative medicine. He authored 4 books, 660 scientific publications and serves on many editorial boards and many national and international advisory boards. He received many international awards in recognition of his contributions for treatment of malignant and non-malignant disorders.

Hematology

Britt Gustafsson has completed her PhD 15 years ago from Karolinska Institutet and has continued her studies in the field of pediatric hematology. She has published more than 60 papers in the field of pediatric hematology. She is a senior pediatric consultant at Center for Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation at Karolinska University Hospital. She has also worked as a pediatrician at a smaller mission hospital in Zambia for the last 4 years.

Stem cell Transplantation

Dr. DTY Chiu completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of California-Davis in 1976 and postdoctoral studies from the Department of Hematology at Oakland Children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Hospital from 1976-1980. He is currently a professor as well as Dean of Research and Development of Chang Gung University in Taiwan. He has published over 130 scientific papers in reputable Journals such as Blood, JCI, Seminars in Hematology, British J of Hematology and Experimental Hematology. He is currently serving as an editorial board member of Free Radical Research and an associate editor of Biomedical Journal.

Global Metabolic Changes and Cellular Dysfunction in Diamide Challenged G6PD-Deficient Red Blood Cells Daniel Tsun-Yee Chiu Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) is essential to maintain proper nicotinamide dinucleotide hydrogen phosphate(NADPH)levels and redox homeostasis. G6PD deficiency is associated with impaired glutathione (GSH) regeneration, and predisposes red blood cells (RBCs) to oxidative damage. The specific metabolomic pathways altered by G6PD deficiency, and the relation of these changes to the dysfunction of RBCs upon oxidant challenge are incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the changes in global metabolism of RBCs in response to the oxidative challenge by diamide. Only minor differences were observed between the metabolome of untreated RBCs from that of normal and G6PD-deficient individuals. In contrast, significant changes in several biochemical pathways were found in G6PD-deficient RBCs, including changes in GSH metabolism, purine metabolism, and glycolysis. GSH depletion was accompanied by an exhaustive consumption in cellular energy due to a futile attempt to synthesize GSH by -glutamyl cysteine synthetase. Accumulation of AMP and ADP led to AMPK activation and increased entry of glucose into glycolysis. However, oxidative modification of pyruvate kinase inhibited its activity leading to ineffective energy production. In addition, the diamide induced changes led to a loss in the ability of RBCs to deform under shear stress. This loss in RBC functionality was temporary and reversible in normal RBCs, but more severe and irreversible in G6PD-deficient RBCs. Taken together, these findings clearly demonstrate that metabolic anomalies account for diamide-induced dysfunctions of G6PD-deficient RBCs, and link the inability to counter oxidant insult by metabolism to the irreversible loss of functions of these cells .

Dr Erhabor Osaro is a chartered scientist and fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Science of London. He holds a doctor of philosophy degree in immunohaematology. He completed the University of Greenwich specialist courses in blood transfusion and laboratory quality management system. His teaching experience spans both Nigeria and the United Kingdom. His work experience includes working as a Specialist Biomedical Scientist at the Royal Bolton Hospital-a continuous improvement conscious and a centre of excellence in the implementation of lean principles in the health sector in Europe. He is the recipient of several awards, including the famous British Blood Transfusion Society Young Scientist Award and the Margaret Kenwright Young Scientist Award. He is a registration portfolio verifier/examiner for the Institute of Biomedical Science of London. He is a member of the editorial board as well as an article reviewer for several scientific journals. A well-published contributor in the field of infectious diseases, immunohaematology, and transfusion medicine, he is chairman of the board of directors of Nelson Biomedical Limited, UK and Nigeria.

Hematology

Dr Philippou completed her Ph.D in 1997, from the University of London (Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School), UK and immediately obtained a tenured post at Imperial College (London), UK followed by the University of Leeds, UK, where she is an Associate Professor. She is Academic Theme Lead of Translational Cardiovascular Research, at the University of Leeds. She is also the current Chairman of the FXIII and Fibrinogen Subcommittee of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

My research since 1992 has focused on understanding mechanisms of thrombosis, in particular to the coagulation pathway. Currently my group is looking into the discovery of novel therapeutics against thrombosis that will be taken orally and will have safer bleeding profiles than other antithrombotics currently available or in development. I am also interested in understanding novel mechanisms that regulate the activity of coagulation factors. In addition, we are investigating hyperhomocysteinemia with respect to understanding its role in clot formation and its stability. Overall, we have established many methodologies that enable us to investigate clot formation and its stability in vitro and in vivo. These methodologies are being used to understand the nature of protein-protein interactions and other mechanisms involved in the coagulation pathway with respect to blood clot formation and its ability to be lysed by the fibrinolyitc pathway.

Thomas D Licker has a BS in Environmental Science from Slippery Rock University and has over 20-years experience in handling event driven hazardous materials and biological response actions. He holds an accredited certification as a Council Certified Environmental Infection Control Remediator recognized by the Council for Engineering and Scientific Boards. He is the Director of Infection Control Technologies, a premier bioremediation services company and serves as the Director of Operations for Decontamination Professionals International.

Infection control technologies

Francis J Castellino is the Kleiderer-Pezold Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the WM Keck Center for Transgene Research at the University of Notre Dame, USA. He has coauthored more that 400 peer reviewed manuscripts.

Hemostasis system

Stef Stienstra is a strategic and creative Consultant in Biomedical Science with a parallel career as a Commander of the reserve of the Royal Dutch Navy. For the Dutch Armed Forces he has responsibility for the counter measures in CBNRe threats and (Medical) consequence management both in a military and a civilian (terrorism) setting. He is a strategic functional specialist for “Health & Environment” of the 1-Civil-Military-Interaction Command (1-CMI) of the Dutch Armed Forces and for 2015 also in the NATO Response Force (NRF), which is in 2015 the responsibility of the 1-German-Netherlands-Corps (1-GNC). In his civil career he works internationally as Consultant or as Scientific Supervisory Board Member for several medical and biotech companies, merely involved in biodefense. He is also a Visiting Professor for Punjab University in Pakistan and Rhein-Waal University in Germany. He has completed his studies in Medicine and in Biochemistry at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands and has extensive practical experience in cell biology, immuno-hematology, biodefense and transfusion medicine. His natural business acumen and negotiation competence helps to initiate new successful businesses, often created out of unexpected combinations of technologies. His good understanding of abstract science combined with excellent skills in the communication of scientific matters to non-specialists, helps him with strategic consulting at top level management.

Ebola

Rachel Groppo has completed her PhD in the laboratory of Dr. Ann Palmenberg at the University of Wisconsin, USA. After completing her Post doctorate at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, she has joined Sanofi Pasteur. Currently she is a Virology Manager at Sanofi Pasteur North American Research.

Virology

Eugenie Bergogne-Berezin is a Professor of Clinical Microbiology at University Diderot, Paris. She has studied MD in Medicine and PhD in Sciences in the early 1970s. She is a Chief of Department of Clinical Microbiology and research group, University Bichat Claude-Bernard and developed research on Acinetobacter spp., (nosocomial pathogen, pathogenicity, resistance), pharmacology of antibiotics, tissue distribution (lungs, brain, bronchi), research on intestinal ecology, jejunal flora and bacterial adhesion. She is an Adviser to pharmaceutical companies, expert in pharmacology-toxicology for the Ministry of Health, expert for international journals. She has developed a journal Antibiotics, (Elsevier). She has published 6 medical books, many chapters in international infectious diseases books, 200 articles in scientific journals.

Antibiotics

Fernanda De Freitas Anibal had her PhD from University of São Paulo, Brazil in Basic and Applied Immunology. She is a Principal Investigator at Laboratory of Parasitology (Federal University of São Carlos) seeks new tools for the treatment, prevention and diagnostics for infectious diseases. Currently, they are working with two plants and six enzymes and their effects against schistosomiasis mansoni and toxocariasis, about the treatment of the infectious diseases, their group studies effects of plants (extracts) and their isolated fractions in order to evaluate the anti-parasitic and anti-inflammatory effects and for infectious disease prevention, moreover have been working on the evaluation of the proteins of the parasite that has been potential to induce immune responses that decrease the parasite burden.

Immune responses

Joanna Zajkowska is currently working at Medical University of Białystok, Poland and carries Clinical Research on infectious diseases, especially on tick-borne diseases and nervous system diseases. She is an expert in internal medicine, infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology. She is a Member of ISW-TBE, Wien Austria (International Scientific Working group on Tick-Borne Encephalitis and ESGBOR (ESCMID-European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases). She has published more than 200 papers in reputed journals and serving as a Reviewer in many journals.

Tick-borne diseases and nervous system diseases

Ashok Kapse is a consulting Pediatrician practicing in the city of Surat in the Gujarat state of India, besides owning a private pediatric hospital he is also Head of the Pediatric Department at a prestigious Mahavir Super Specialty Hospital. After finishing graduation (MBBS) he did MD in Pediatrics. Initially he has worked as a Professor of Pediatrics at Medical College Surat, later he opted out for private practice however pursued academic interest. He developed special interest and skill in infectious diseases. He is a recipient of many oration awards and delivered hundreds of lectures on dengue, malaria, typhoid and antibiotic uses across India. He has decorated many a posts in medical fields: President of Surat City Branch of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), President of Gujarat State Branch of IAP and National President of Infectious Diseases Branch of IAP are few of them. He is an avid Clinical Photographer; his photos figure into various books and atlases including the prestigious atlas of infectious diseases published by American Academy of Pediatrics. He has published umpteen articles in peer reviewed journals.

Pediatric infectious diseases

Stephen Mortlock X is the Global Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Liaison at the Q2 Solutions Laboratory in UK. Prior to joining Q2 Solutions, he was the Chief Microbiologist at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Lahore, Pakistan and was awarded a DSc for his work setting up an antenatal screening program for the indigent population. He with his colleagues has published over 40 papers on an eclectic mix of subjects from enteric pathogens, food science and saliva cotinine. He has also worked for the Health Protection Agency in the UK and spent time in the Middle East.

Global infectious diseases and microbiology

Junie Lia Monica is an MD, Ph D, Professor, Head Microbiology Department, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj Napoca, Romania. She is a Coordinator of resident doctor’s in the Laboratory Medicine specialty and Leadership PhD doctor’s thesis in Medicine field. She is a Board Member of European professional Societies ESCMID (ESGCP Study Groups), Society of Chemotherapy, Scientia Parasitologica Pro Vita and is a Reviewer of international reviews, Member of International organizations, Director/Coordinator in research projects. She has more than 63 papers published in full in international journals and is an editorial board member of national reviews. She is an Organizer/President, Keynote, Invited Speaker and Chair of International and National Congresses.

Microbiology

Maria Luisa G Daroy is a Scientist at the Research and Biotechnology Division of St. Luke’s Medical Center and Assistant Professor in the MS Molecular Medicine Program of the St. Luke’s College of Medicine-WHQ Memorial. She has published more than 20 papers on dengue, Japanese encephalitis, chikungunya, eye infections, dementia, diabetes and coronary artery disease. She was the Chair of the Board of Examiners of the Philippine Academy for Microbiology from 2013-2015 and authored a book chapter on Philippine microbiology research. Researches include dengue, chikungunya, diarrhea, CNS infections, pathogen genomics, antimicrobial resistance, plant antivirals, molecular diagnostics and genetics of CVD, thyroid cancer and dementia.

Dengue, chikungunya, diarrhea , CNS infections, pathogen genomics, antimicrobial resistance, plant antivirals, molecular diagnostics, genetics of CVD, thyroid cancer and dementia

Maria Del Rosario Davalos Gamboa has acquired her Pharmaceutical Biochemistry degree from the University of San Simon. She has started working at the University of San Simon in the Faculty of Medicine at the Laboratory of Nuclear Medicine and later from August 1992 continued working as a Teaching Research Assistant till 1998. From 2009 to 2010, she was the Director of the Research Institute of the Faculty of Dentistry UMSS and in 1997 won a competency exam at the Faculty of Dentistry UMSS in Biochemistry and appointed as a Professor. She is currently a Legal Representative and owner partner (in a greater proportion than 51% of shares) of the International Associated Factory oils and coals SRL ACECAB, in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, whose principal activity is to generate cosmetic oils and charcoal.

Cancer research