ISTH announces winners of new Fundamental Research Career Development Awards

The recipients of the inaugural ISTH Fundamental Research Career Development Awards were announced today at the ISTH 2023 Congress. The new program, which launched this year, was developed by the ISTH Basic Research Task Force under the purview of the Education Committee as a visible career development award mechanism for high-potential early career investigators.

The awards are targeted specifically to early career investigators who have demonstrated excellence in research. These awards aim to strengthen fundamental research by supporting innovative ideas of the next generation of scientists in the field, by recognizing a high potential to develop independent research careers, and by fostering active commitment of early career investigators to the ISTH.

The award winners each receive an award of up to $50,000 USD for research in their respective category. Funds are used by applicants to support research, training and/or collaborations.

The award winners in this year’s three award categories are as follows:

• Fundamental Mechanisms of Thrombosis: Mary Underwood, Ph.D.
  • Dr. Underwood – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA – Will study the role of new clearance receptors for coagulation factors in the development of venous thrombosis.

• Fundamental Mechanisms of Hemostasis: Iris van Moort, Ph.D.
  • Dr. van Moort – Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands – Will perform translational studies with patient endothelial cells in a bleeding-on-a-chip model to unravel bleeding disorders of unknown cause.

• Non-canonical Interactions of the Hemostatic System: Frederik Denorme, Ph.D.
  • Dr. Denorme – University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA – Will investigate comorbidities and potential therapeutic approaches to prevent platelet mediated pathological inflammation in acute ischemic stroke. 

The Basic Science Task Force proposed the awards program in 2022 and the call for applications opened in early 2023. Wolfram Ruf, a member of the Basic Science Task Force who helped lead the development of the awards, explained why the Basic Science Task Force targeted young professionals for this program.

“It is essential to keep young professionals engaged with our Society and to attract people to the field early on,” Ruf said. “It is very important that our Society recognizes their new ideas and helps their career development. We want to make sure that people feel empowered and can be successful in their national and international funding schemes to support their independent research programs.”

Ruf also shared the Basic Science Task Force’s desire to help foster future leaders of the organization.

“It’s important that early career professionals receive this type of recognition. There is a major impact for a young investigator’s career development and opportunities for more funding if an international society recognizes your contributions to the field and your research projects,” said Ruf. “Our hope is that these investigators will continue to support and grow the field and become leaders of the Society in the future.”

Learn more about the Fundamental Research Career Development Awards here.