• Medical_Professionals
• Medical_students
• Nurses

The 2017 Annual Scientific Conference on Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia is one of the must attend events of the year for consultants and specialist psychologists, nurses, scientists and all relevant experts. This is the 11th consecutive opportunity to see the latest advances in diagnosis, treatment and emerging fields in haemoglobinopathies. It is an opportunity to interact on the latest advances in clinical care, transition services and emerging new therapies including updates for curative treatment options. Furthermore, you will have the opportunity to show case your work through abstracts (oral and posters) and to network with leading and cutting edge practitioners.

This year’s theme is ‘Patient choice in a changing landscape of treatment and cure for sickle cell and thalassaemia’.  This will include case scenarios, expert and patient opinion, and educational sessions.  During the three days there will be sessions on genetics and genomic progress, curative therapies and emerging services.

The abstract and poster presentations will take place during the three days. We are supported by a record number of sponsors with exhibitions taking place throughout the event.   Among the highlights we will have a book launch for ‘Sickle Cell Disease – Pain and Common Chronic Complications’ and a review of the first ten years of the Annual Scientific Conference on Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia.

The Conference is hosted by Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

Who should attend?

This three day conference is aimed at all those with a common interest in sickle cell and thalassaemia, including:

Scientists and clinicians in all areas of haemoglobinopathies including

Consultant haematologists / Paediatricians / Psychologists/Scientists

Fellows and trainees in all related fields

There will be patient led sessions and opportunity for interactions

20 CPD/CME points have been accredited from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Royal College Pathologists.

Dr. Praveen Anand

Prof. Anand is Professor of Clinical Neurology and Head, Centre for Clinical Translation, at Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London. His medical education was at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and post-graduate training at the Hammersmith Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London. His research focuses on pathophysiological and molecular mechanisms in human sensory neuropathies and chronic pain syndromes. Collaborations with colleagues and pharmaceutical companies are directed to projects which bridge the gap between pre-clinical developments and their successful clinical applications. The translational approach has guided the recent success of 4 novel drugs from the laboratory to Phase II trials for chronic neuropathic pain and itch. He has over 200 peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature, Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, Science and The Lancet.

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Dr. Biree Andemariam

Associate Professor, Hematology/Oncology, Director, New England Sickle Cell Institute, Director, Connecticut Bleeding Disorders Center, University of Connecticut, U.S.A.

Biree Andemariam, M.D. is founding director of the New England Sickle Cell Institute (NESCI) and directs the Connecticut Bleeding Disorders Center. She received her undergraduate degree in molecular biology and African studies from Princeton University, her medical degree with research honors from Tufts University School of Medicine, and her medical training at Cornell University. She is Chief Medical Officer of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.

10th Annual Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Advanced Conference - 5-7 October 2016.

Dr. Kenneth Ataga

Dr. Kenneth Ataga is an adult hematologist with a clinical and research interest in sickle cell disease. He attended medical school at the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, followed by a residency in Internal Medicine at Upstate Medical University (formerly State University of New York Health Sciences Center) at Syracuse, NY and a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

His clinical research is focused on the development of new therapies and the vasculopathy of sickle cell disease, with an emphasis on renal complications, pulmonary hypertension and coagulation activation. He is presently a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

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Dr. Raffaella Colombatti 

Dr.Raffaella Colombatti is pediatric hematologist oncologist at the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Unit of the Azienda Ospedaliera-Università di Padova, in Padova, Italy. Her main field of interest are Red Cell Disorders, especially Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). She has contributed in creating the Sickle Cell Veneto Region Reference Center in Padova and is clinical coordinator of the local Universal Newborn Screening Program; she is in charge of the General Hematology-Anemias clinic. In the past years she has been involved in clinical research on SCD vasculopathy, cerebral and neurocognitive abnormalities and brain function.

Dr.Colombatti is also interested in Child Health in Africa and is leading several projects in Guinea Bissau, West Africa, in the field of Hematology and Infectious Disorders.

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Dr. Yvonne Daniel – PhD, CSci-FIBMS, MSc

Yvonne Daniel is Specialist Lead Scientist, Haematological Sciences and Special Haematology Lead at Viapath, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital London. She has a specific interest in the screening and diagnosis of haemoglobinopathies and has been working in this area for over 20 years. Her experience encompasses both protein and molecular based techniques.

Yvonne completed her initial training in New Zealand before moving to London where she completed her MSc in Biomedical Sciences at University of Westminster in 1997. Her PhD at Kings College, London was completed in 2010 and developed a highly sensitive and specific method of screening for haemoglobinopathies using mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry.

In addition to her laboratory based role Yvonne is seconded as a scientific advisor to the NHS Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Screening Programme. This role includes drafting policy, review of procedures and protocols and advising on incidents. She is co-author of the Laboratory Handbooks. Yvonne has also acted as a scientific advisor to projects implementing screening in Nigeria and Tanzania. Here she has led on technical implementation, policy formation for interpretative and reporting algorithms, quality process and training. She is actively involved in lecturing, training and education.

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Dr. Deepika Darbari 

Attending Physician, Division of Hematology, Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Children’s National Medical Center, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Darbari is a Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist at the Children’s National Medical Center and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University in Washington DC. Sickle cell team at Children’s National provides comprehensive care to one of the largest populations of children and adolescents with sickle cell disease in the United States. Dr. Darbari studies complications of sickle cell disease with emphasis on pain. She has been conducting clinical and translational studies directed to better understanding of sickle cell pain and its management. She has published many peer reviewed papers on the subject.  Her work was one of the first in the field showing altered brain connectivity in patients who were frequently hospitalized for pain suggesting possible role of central mechanisms of pain in sickle cell disease.

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Joy Enahoro

Joy Enahoro is a specialist adviser with the Citizens Advice Bureau Southwark with an undergraduate degree in law  from the University of East London and a mother to a 12 yr old boy living with Sicklecell Disease who has transitioned from many years on blood transfusion to hydroxyurea.

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Dr. Dimitrios Farmakis

Dr. Farmakis graduated from the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 1996 and received his Doctoral Degree on haemoglobinopathy-associated heart disease from the same university in 2003. He specialized in Cardiology at Athens University Hospital “Attikon” and received his board certification in 2008. He was further trained in Cardio-Oncology at Bern University Hospital “Inselspital”, Bern, Switzerland, in Heart Failure at Zurich University Medical School, Zurich, Switzerland, and in Clinical Trials at Harvard Medical School, Boston, U.S.A., by which he was awarded a distinction.

Dr. Farmakis is the current President of the Working Group for Cardiomyopathies and Basic Research of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology, a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), a member of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC, a member of the Cardio-Oncology Committee of the HFA and a member of the Board of the Hellenic College of Cardiology.

Dr. Farmakis has worked as a cardiologist with clinical, educational and research duties at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens since 2008. Since 2012, he is in charge of the Cardiac Clinic for Haemoglobinopathies at Athens University Hospital ”Laiko” and since 2015, he runs the Cardio-Oncology Clinic at Athens University Hospital “Attikon”.

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Dr. Anne Gordon

Dr. Anne Gordon is Senior Consultant Allied Health Professional & Strategic Lead for Therapies, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Anne holds a senior leadership role including clinical and research responsibilities and a pan-Therapies strategic position. She runs a unique clinical service in collaboration with the charitable sector for children who have had an acquired brain injury and their families. Anne has led a number of service-user engagement projects that have resulted in service improvements and clinical standards initiatives. This has included leading the national scoping project of children’s rehabilitation for NHS England in 2015, and chair of the rehabilitation and long-term outcomes section of the National Childhood Stroke Guidelines (Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, published 2017). Combining stakeholder data and that of best known practice she has prepared national recommendations to improve equity of access to care for children and young people.

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Dr. Kathryn Hassell

Dr Hassell has been the Director of the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center since 2003, after serving as its Associate Director since 1992. She has been with the University since 1989. Dr Hassell provides inpatient and outpatient care to adults with sickle cell disease at the University of Colorado Hospital. She is a site principal investigator for multi-center clinical trials for adults with sickle cell disease, and has provided national leadership on study steering and executive committees. Dr Hassell has led several regional projects through the Mountain States Genetics Regional Collaborative Center, and serves on the Newborn Screening Advisory Committee for the Colorado State Department of Health. She also sits on the steering committees of a number of national projects including the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Project for HRSA, the American Society of Hematology’s Public Health Taskforce, and the Registries and Surveillance for Hemoglobinopathies (RuSH) Project for the CDC and NIH.

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Dr. Jo Howard

Consultant Haematologist and Clinical Lead/ /Honorary Reader in Haemoglobinopathies, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Howard is the chair of the UK Forum for Haemoglobin Disorders is Co-Chair of the adult peer review of haemoglobinopathy services and is on the Steering Committee for the UK Haemoglobinopathy Registry. She leads the Editorial board for the UK Standards for the Care of Adults with Sickle Cell Disease and she is an advisor on the UK NEQAS Steering Committee for General Haematology, and is a reviewer for the Cochrane Collaboration. She has published articles on the management of sickle cell disease. Her current interests are in the improvement of care for adults with Sickle Cell Disease, both acute pain management and in the management of its long term complications.

10th Annual Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Advanced Conference - 5-7 October 2016.

Dr. Lewis Hsu

MD, PhD, is Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Pediatric Sickle Cell at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Hsu’s dedication to finding more cures for sickle cell disease, and improving treatment and education until more cures can be found, began during his MD/PhD (Biophysics) at University of Rochester. He did pediatric residency at Yale and pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship training at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His clinical and translational research in sickle cell disease includes the landmark STOP study of transfusion to reduce stroke risk in sickle cell, bone marrow transplantation to cure sickle cell disease, clinical research on management of sickle cell pain, and inflammatory vasculopathy due to hemolysis in mouse models. He volunteers as Vice Chief Medical Officer of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. His current projects examine care transitions, social determinants of health, and patient-centered outcomes. Dr. Lewis Hsu’s recent White Papers are among the first to highlight the utility for sickle cell disease of Community Health Workers and of Implementation Science. His global experience in sickle cell disease includes collaboration in Nigeria and Brazil.

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Dr. Marina Kleanthous

Professor, The Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine. Head, Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus

Dr Marina Kleanthous (PhD 1990 Neurochemistry, University of Athens) is the Head of the Molecular Genetics Thalassaemia Department at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING and Professor at the Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine. She is actively involved in the diagnosis, prenatal diagnosis and Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) of haemoglobinopathies Her research interests include: Drug therapy for thalassaemia using HbF inducers, gene therapy for thalassaemia using gene addition and gene editing approaches, development of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for thalassaemia by NGS and genomic and proteomic studies in thalassaemia. She has created the ITHANET, an international haemoglobinopathies portal.

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Dr. Caterina Minniti

Dr. Minniti is Professor of Clinical Medicine and Pediatrics at Einstein College of Medicine. She is the Director of the Sickle Cell Center for Adults at Montefiore Hospital, whose mission is to provide exceptional, seamless, comprehensive, compassionate and individualized care, education, counseling and research for people living with sickle cell disease. Dr. Minniti is a clinical trial specialist and a translational researcher who believes that the best way to provide care for SCD patients is on a continuum, from birth to adulthood.

The focus of her research is in understanding mechanisms that lead to end organ damage in order to identify early biomarkers and targeted therapies. Her interests have spanned from stroke to pulmonary hypertension and most recently, she has focused on leg ulcers as they represent a window into the vasculopathy in SCD. She aims to develop pathogenetically based therapeutic approaches for preventing and treating SCD-related end organ damage. Before moving to New York, she was a member of the Hematology Branch of the National Institute of Heart Blood and Lung, where she developed a topical treatment for chronic leg ulcers in SCD.

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Dr. Heather Rawle

Dr Heather Rawle is a Consultant Clinical and Health Psychologist at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital Foundation NHS Trust (GSTT). Heather has worked in the GSTT Haematology Health Psychology Service since 2002 and has led the service since 2016 when Dr Nicky Thomas (Consultant Health Psychologist) retired.

Heather provides psychological support using a range of psychological approaches such as cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, solution-focussed therapy, and motivational interviewing. Heather is also responsible for the neuropsychological aspects of the service which supports patients who are concerned about their memory and other aspects of cognitive functioning. She is on the Peer Review Haemoglobin Disorders Steering Group, chairs the British Psychological Society Special Interest Group in Haemoglobinopathies, and is a member of the Haematology Institute Red Cell Working Group. She is co-lead psychologist for South Thames Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Network and for NHS London Haemoglobinopathies meetings.

Heather obtained her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southampton, her Masters in Health Psychology from the University of Surrey, and her Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Clinical Neuropsychology from Institute of Psychiatry/King’s College London.

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Prof. Giovanna Russo 

Professor of Pediatrics, University of Catania; director of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Center, which provides health care for children with hematology/oncology/immunology diseseas. Her areas of clinical and research interests are hemoglobinopathies, sickle cell disease, rare anemias, platelet disorders.

She coordinates the Red Cell Working group of Italian Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Association, which has an ongoing programme to promote comprehensive care for sickle cell disease pediatric patients all over Italy.

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Dr. Claire Sharpe

Dr Sharpe has been involved in the combined renal and sickle cell clinic at King’s College Hospital since its instigation in 2004 and has developed a strong interest in the underlying mechanisms and management of sickle cell nephropathy. She is actively involved in studying both its epidemiology and the outcomes of early treatment, focusing on patient education, early intervention and on-going monitoring in order to slow disease progression and minimize the number of patients requiring renal replacement therapy in the future. She has been invited to speak on the renal complications of sickle cell disease at many national meetings including at the Royal Society of Medicine Transplantation Immunology & Mucosal Biology MPhil/PhD.

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Shifneez Shakir

On world sickle cell day, 19th June 2012, in collaboration with the Maldivian medical association,in an effort to break the sickle silence in the country, the very first newspaper supplement on sickle cell was published featuring my story and I presented patient perspective living with sickle cell at a session held for doctors and health care professsionals. Since then I volunteer with Maldivian thalassaemia society and has been an elected executive committee member since 2014.

As a sickle – beta thalassaemia Patient, I dedicate my efforts to create sickle cell awareness throughout my country and at different international platforms for patients, parents, medical professionals and policy makers. My mission is to share my story and stand up for my cause to break the stigma and empower patients & parents to win the battle against sickle cell and thalassemia for the sufferers.

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Prof. Ambroise Wonkam

Prof Ambroise Wonkam is a specialist medical geneticist, in the Division of Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

After a MD training from the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I (Cameroon), he completed a thesis in Cell Biology in the department of Morphology, University of Geneva (Switzerland) and a PhD in Human Genetics (University of Cape Town, South Africa). Other salient aspects of Prof Wonkam’s background include his education as a medical geneticist at a highly reputable genetics department in Geneva (Switzerland). He subsequently practices medical genetics in both European and African contexts.

His research interests are reflected in more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, which are in molecular, clinical, educational and ethical aspects of medical and human genetics.

His is member of the steering committee of H3Africa consortium, leading specifically the NIH/NHGRI funded SCD project. He has recently been granted from NIH/NHLBI 3.7m USD, to establish a Sickle Africa Data Coordinating Centre (SADaCC), at the University of Cape Town.

GBP

Group registrations not allowed

Accompanying persons not allowed

We don’t accept Online Abstracts

We put together an event HotelMap that shows alternative nearby accommodation options with best possible rates and special offers. Please click here to view live availability and book directly with the hotel.

If you are travelling from overseas to attend this conference then please be aware that you may be required to apply for a visa, please ensure that you leave yourself plenty of time to do so.

https://www.hotelmap.com/pro/M68YP

Submission Info

The abstract submission process is your opportunity to help shape the content, to share your work with your peers and raise your professional profile.

Can I make a submission? We encourage abstract submission as early as possible. The deadline is Friday 11 August 2017.

Do I have to pay? There is no fee for making a submission. If your submission is accepted for presentation then you will be required to attend the Conference and pay the standard registration fee for the day of your presentation.

Submitting an abstract 

A. Important Information

If you are submitting more than one abstract, you will need to submit with a second email address.

Abstracts are required for all papers and posters. Abstracts MUST be submitted online.

Text must be in single line spacing.

Authors are allowed to use tables and images as part of their abstract (maximum of 1 tables/images only can be submitted with each abstract). Please mark clearly within the abstract text where the table/image is to be inserted and provide relevant reference.

B. Preparation of Your Abstract

A “blind” selection process will be used. No identifying features such as names of hospitals, medical schools, clinics or cities may be listed in the title or text of the abstract. Do not include the names of authors either. The names of authors and their affiliations (institutions) will be submitted on-line when you submit the abstract.

Abstracts which have been presented to a substantially different audience, especially an international one, may be submitted for consideration.

The title should be as brief as possible but long enough to indicate clearly the nature of the study.

Abstracts should state briefly and clearly the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the work. The maximum word count is 350 words.

Aims: Clearly state the purpose of the abstract

Methods: Describe your selection of observations or experimental subjects clearly

Results/ Conclusion: Present your results in a logical sequence in text, tables and illustrations – IF RESULTS ARE NOT INCLUDED THEN YOUR ABSTRACT WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. Clearly state the conclusion of your study.

Abstract categories

Please indicate which category you believe best fits your entry.

Blood Transfusion and Blood Safety

Additional areas in Thalassaemia

Newborn Screening

Additional areas in Sickle Cell Disease

Public Health and Health Education

Quality of Life and Patient Experience

If you are unsure about the requirements for a specific category, please give us a call on 020 7880 6226 to discuss your entry.

Abstract submission deadline 2017-08-11

The 11th Annual Conference Academy for Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Conference (ASCAT) is the essential event for all health care professionals who wish to learn more about the diagnosis and management of sickle cell disease and thalassaemia.

The conference provides unique exposure and access to network with international healthcare stakeholders including:

A showcase to a highly relevant audience

Access to industry influencers and decision makers

Premium association with a leading edge authoritative event

Access to key stakeholders

Networking opportunities

For sponsorship enquiries, please contact ben.nelmes@redactive.co.uk or call 020 7880 6244

Silver sponsor – bluebird bio

With its lentiviral-based gene therapies, T cell immunotherapy expertise and gene editing capabilities, bluebird bio has built an integrated product platform with broad potential application to severe genetic diseases and cancer. bluebird bio’s gene therapy clinical programs include its Lenti-D™ product candidate for the treatment of cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy and its LentiGlobin™ BB305 product candidate for the treatment of transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia and severe sickle cell disease. bluebird bio’s oncology pipeline is built upon the company’s leadership in lentiviral gene delivery and T cell engineering.

bluebird bio’s lead oncology program, bb2121, is an anti-BCMA CAR T program partnered with Celgene. bluebird bio also has discovery research programs utilizing megaTALs/homing endonuclease gene editing technologies with the potential for use across the company’s pipeline.

Silver sponsor – Novartis 

In the UK, Novartis develops, manufactures and markets innovative medicines, devices and diagnostic tests which help improve patient outcomes. Based on four sites across the north and south of England, we employ approximately 1,500 people to serve healthcare needs across the whole of the UK, as well as supporting the global operations of Novartis by manufacturing the active pharmaceutical ingredients used worldwide in many medicines. In 2015 Novartis in the UK invested over £50million in R&D and is the largest commercial sponsor of clinical trials. For more information, please visit www.novartis.co.uk.

Conference sponsor

Exhibitors

ADDMEDICA, founded in 2005, is a European pharmaceutical company focused on developing and marketing innovative products for rare diseases, serious conditions and unmet medical needs.
The mission of ADDMEDICA is to provide specific medical solutions to physicians, patients, and managed care organizations, by developing, registering and/or marketing a range of medical products in several rare and debilitating diseases.
ADDMEDICA has developed a strong expertise in hematology and pediatric fields.
In Europe, SCD affects more than 41,000 patients, more than 15,000 in UK; and before SIKLOS, no specific medicine has ever been registered for the treatment of SCD.
On June 29th, 2007, ADDMEDICA obtained a European Marketing Authorization for SIKLOS® 100mg & 1000mg as an orphan medicinal product in the prevention of recurrent, painful vaso-occlusive crisis, including chest syndrome in paediatric and adult patients suffering from SCD.
With the development of SIKLOS® 100mg and 1000mg (hydroxycarbamide), the company has made a significant contribution to the field of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).
ADDMEDICA is actively engaged against SCD, and to facilitate disease management, the company also developed free app for patients. (http://www.sickle-o-scope.net/)
This engagement is also translated in high involvement in specific clinical research.

 Events Team , Guys' and St. Thomas' Hospitals

Phone: 011-44-20-7188-1622

Email: events@gstt.nhs.uk