The International Myeloma Society Career Development Awardees

The International Myeloma Society (IMS) Career Development Award is designed to support the academic careers of young scientists engaged in research focused on plasma cell disorders, particularly multiple myeloma. This initiative aims to foster the next generation of researchers by providing them with the necessary resources to advance their studies in this critical area.

Recently, 20 young scientists were rewarded with the award:

• Josefine Krüger

Josefine Krüger is a physician-scientist specializing in Multiple Myeloma research, with a focus on personalized medicine and the investigation of new therapeutic approaches. She is currently a Hematology Resident at Charité and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

• Silvia Armuzzi

Silvia Armuzzi is a PhD student and research fellow in the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences at IRCCS – Bologna University Hospital. Her research focuses on lymphoproliferative disorders, particularly Multiple Myeloma (MM), Ph-negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). She utilizes high-resolution sequencing approaches (NGS) for both diagnostic and research purposes.

• Marína Levy

Marína Levy is an academic affiliated with the University of Iceland, specifically within the Faculty of Medicine. Her research interests primarily focus on epidemiology, particularly in relation to hematological conditions such as multiple myeloma and its precursors.

• Eduarda Barbosa

Eduarda Barbosa holds a degree in Biomedicine from the Fluminense Federal University and a specialization in Hematology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She earned her Master’s degree in Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Currently, she is a doctoral student in the Postgraduate Program in Clinical Medicine (CAPES 7), focusing on assessing the bone marrow microenvironment in multiple myeloma using flow cytometry.

• Ross Firestone

Ross Firestone is a Hematology/Oncology Fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He previously served as a Resident Physician in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. He completed his MD/PhD training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

• Lilli Sophie Sester

Lilli Sophie Sester is a resident physician in the Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Rheumatology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She also serves as an assistant physician in the same department, focusing on the treatment and research of hematological, oncological, and rheumatological conditions.

• Kiyosumi Ochi

Kiyosumi Ochi is a Research Fellow in Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also affiliated with the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Tokyo, Japan.

• David Garrido

David Garrido is a participant in the Postgraduate Program in Hematology at the Hematology Department of Clinical Hospital, University of the Republic (UDELAR) in Montevideo, Uruguay.

• Sara Taranto

Sara Taranto is a Postdoctoral Researcher at ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia. She holds a Master’s degree in Biology and Biomedical Science and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, focusing on IM Hematology.

• Florentin Späth

Florentin Späth is affiliated as a researcher in the Department of Radiation Sciences (Oncology unit) and serves as a Consultant in Hematology at Umeå University in Sweden. His research focuses on the challenges faced in the clinical care of patients with hematological malignancies, with particular interests in multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and their related precursor conditions.

• Andrea Poletti

Andrea Poletti specializes in hematological cancer genomics data science. He currently collaborates with a team of expert bioinformaticians and biostatisticians at IRCCS Sant’Orsola – Institute of Hematology “Seragnoli” in Bologna, Italy. Previously, he worked as a Bioinformatics Scientist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

• Smith Giri

Smith Giri, MD, MHS, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the UAB School of Medicine. He previously completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine.

• Sara Gandfoli

Sara Gandfoli is a Senior Researcher in the TRIMM (Translational Immunology Research Program) at the Hematology Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Finland.

• Lucia Chen

Lucia Chen is a Haematology Registrar at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in the United Kingdom, specializing in hematological malignancies.

• Urvi Shah

Urvi Shah is a Myeloma Specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Her specialties include: Multiple Myeloma, Smoldering Myeloma, Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS), Related Plasma Cell Disorders.

• Teoh Phaik Ju

Teoh Phaik Ju is a Research Fellow at the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore. Her areas of interest include translational medicine, drug screening, and high-throughput techniques such as RNA sequencing, ChIP sequencing, and single-cell sequencing. She is also experienced in RNA interference (RNAi) and CRISPR-Cas9 gene manipulation, with a focus on epigenetic mechanisms and hematological malignancies, particularly multiple myeloma.

• Laura Notarfranchi

Laura Notarfranchi is affiliated with the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at the University of Parma. Her top specialties include Multiple Myeloma, Bone Marrow disorders, and Leukemia.

• Elias Mai

Elias Mai is a Board Certified Specialist in Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Oncology at University Hospital Heidelberg. His research activities primarily concentrate on multiple myeloma and its precursor diseases, aiming to improve understanding and treatment options for these hematological conditions.

• Marc-Andrea Bärtsch

Marc-Andrea Bärtsch, MD, is a physician-scientist at the Translational Myeloma Research Group at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Rheumatology at Heidelberg University Hospital. His research focuses on the bone marrow microenvironment’s role in multiple myeloma and improving treatment strategies through clinical trials.

• Jean-Baptiste Alberge

Jean-Baptiste Alberge is affiliated with the French Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) at the Center for Research in Cancerology and Immunology Nantes-Angers in France. He also serves as an Instructor in Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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