2023 Young Investigator Draft Pick
Dr. Christopher Sande, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Sande graduated from the University of Iowa Medical Center and is a resident physician in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the University of Pennsylvania. His clinical focus is on pediatric pathology and hematopathology with interests in tumor predisposition syndromes. His research focuses on the development and application of diagnostic tools to investigate disease pathophysiology and improve patient care. Through this grant, he will study the “Genetic Drivers of Clonal Hematopoiesis in Patients with Telomere Biology Disorders (TBDs)” – a project that will help improve patient care through better understanding of TBD disease mechanisms.
2022 Young Investigator Draft Pick
Dr. Ji Zha, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Dr. Zha joined Dr. Timothy Olson’s lab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in 2016 as a postdoctoral fellow initially and is now a senior research associate at the same lab. Using a mouse model of Dyskeratosis Congenita, Dr. Zha will be studying the impact of telomere-related deficiencies on the bone marrow niche during transplant. By understanding this critical information, she hopes that future therapies will better target the bone marrow niches of TBD patients to reduce graft failure risk and improve hematopoietic stem cell transplantation outcomes.
2021 Young Investigator Draft Pick
Dr. Neha Nagpal, Boston Children’s Hospital
Dr. Nagpal received her Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. Her work, supported by Uplifting Athletes and Team Telomere, investigates a novel chemical that plays an important role in the telomere pathway. Specifically, she will be studying the drug-life properties of these chemicals with the broader goal of expanding treatment options for patients impacted by Telomere Biology Disorders
2020 Young Investigator Draft Pick
Dr. Abhishek Mangaonkar, Mayo Clinic, Rochester Minnesota
Dr. Mangaonkar has a strong interest in the clinical characteristics, natural history, and biology of myeloid neoplasms. He has been involved with the bone marrow failure precision genomics clinic, which is a unique collaboration between clinicians, geneticists, molecular biologists, and bioinformaticians. Dr. Mangaonkar intends to prospectively assess clonal hematopoiesis in patients with Telomere Biology Disorders and provide evidenced-based follow-up and testing guidelines.
