The Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation gives two Young Investigator Awards each year to new physicians and scientists in the field of cutaneous lymphoma research.  Following are descriptions of our Young Investigator Awards:

American Society of Hematology Young Investigator Award

Established in 2011, this annual award is given to support travel of a young investigator who is presenting cutaneous lymphoma related research to the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.

Criteria for selection of this award includes:

Individuals with a M.D. or Ph.D. degree.

1. Individuals with an academic rank no greater than assistant professor.
2. Individuals with demonstrable interest and/or achievement in clinical care, education or research in cutaneous lymphomas.
3. Individuals who have submitted an abstract and will presenting research at the 2011 ASH meeting.

This award is sponsored by the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation.

About Our 2011 Award Recipient

We are pleased to announce that Salvia Jain, MD has been selected for this award.  Dr. Jain is a Hematology/Oncology Fellow at NYU Langone Medical Center working with Dr. Owen A. O'Connor, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Deputy Cancer Center Director, New York University Cancer Institute, Chief, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, NYU Langone Medical Center.  White at NYU, Dr. Jain has been working to develop novel therapies for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

Dr. Jain's abstract entitled "Validation of a Novel Bioluminescent Mouse Model of Sezary Syndrome for Preclinical Screening" was presented at the 2011 ASH Annual Meeting and was reviewed in conjunction with selection of Dr. Jain for this award.  Dr. Jain has also received two recent awards recognizing her work in CTCL research including the ECOG Young Investigator and ASH Abstract Achievement.

Society for Investigative Dermatology Young Investigator Award

Since 2003, this annual award has been given to support travel to the Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) Annual Meeting and participation in the concurrent CTCL Symposium.  Nominations for this award are received from members of the Foundation’s Medical Advisory Board, a candidate is chosen by the organizing committee of the Symposium, and the candidate is approved by the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Criteria for selection of this award includes:

• Individuals with a M.D. or Ph.D. degree.
• Individuals with an academic rank no greater than assistant professor.
• Individuals with demonstrable interest and/or achievement in clinical care, education or research in cutaneous lymphomas.
• Individuals who have submitted an abstract and will presenting research at the 2012 SID meeting.

This award is sponsored by the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation and the International Society for Cutaneous Lymphomas.

About Our 2012 Award Recipient

We are pleased to announce that Rei Watanabe, MD, PhD has been selected for this award. Dr. Watanabe is a Research Fellow at the Harvard Skin Disease Research Center in the Department of Dermatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.

Dr. Watanabe's abstract entitled "Mechanisms of Resistance to L-CTCL Patients to Alemtuzumab: What Failure Can Teach Us" was presented at the 2012 SID Annual Meeting and reviewed in conjunction with selection of Dr. Watanabe for this award.

Listing of Past Young Investigator Award (YIA) Recipients

2003: Karen McGinnus, M.D., University of Pennsylvania; SID YIA Recipient

2004: Narin Apisanthanarax, M.D., Case Western; SID YIA Recipient

2005: Larisa Geskin, M.D., University of Pittsburgh; SID YIA Recipient

2006: Christiane Querfeld, M.D., Northwestern University; SID YIA Recipient

2007: Rachael Clark, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard; SID YIA Recipient

2008: Xiao Ni, M.D., Ph.D., MD Anderson ; SID YIA Recipient

2009: Chunlei Zhang, MD., Ph.D., MD Anderson; SID YIA Recipient

2010: Makato Sugaya, M.D., University of Tokyo; SID YIA Recipient

2011: Oleg E. Akilov, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; SID YIA Recipient; and Salvia Jain, M.D., NYU; ASH YIA Recipient

2012: Rei Watanabe, MD, PhD, Harvard Skin Disease and Research Center, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital; SID YIA Recipient