The ISBT Academy Standing Committee

So-Yong is currently the Director of the Jungbu Blood Laboratory Center of the Korean Red Cross (KRC). She has been the Director of the Safety Bureau at the KRC Blood Services Headquarters, Director of the Blood Transfusion Research Institute, and Director of the Seoul Nambu Blood Center. As the current Director for Scientific Affairs of the Korean Society of Blood Transfusion (KSBT), she is responsible for organizing the scientific program of the KSBT annual meetings and for promoting educational and research activities among KSBT members.

Since 2006 she has been an active representative of the Asia Pacific Blood Network (APBN) and served as the Vice Chair of the APBN from 2015-2016.

Masja de Haas (MD, PhD) is vice-president of Sanquin Diagnostic Services (Amsterdam) and professor in Immunohaematology (University of Leiden), in the Netherlands. She has now over 20 years of experience in transfusion medicine. Her research interests are auto-and alloimmune-mediated blood cell destruction. This extends to the evaluation and design of optimal diagnostic and treatment strategies, such as transfusion policies. She is a member of the ISBT Working Parties for Red Cell Immunogenetics and Blood Group Terminology and Rare donors, respectively. She aims to contribute to the ISBT community by supporting the dissemination of knowledge to strengthen transfusion medicine worldwide.

John W. Semple obtained his PhD in Immunology from Queen’s University at Kingston and was a Diabetes Canada Fellow at the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research in the C.H. Best Institute, University of Toronto. He joined St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto in 1990 and became Head of the Toronto Platelet Immunobiology Group at St. Mike’s and a Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at the University of Toronto. In 2016, he moved to Lund University where he is currently a Professor of Transfusion Medicine and Group Leader in Platelet Immunology. In addition to being the recipient of many awards, he is a member of several organizations and has delivered over 160 presentations at international meetings. He is currently the Scientific Secretary of the International Society of Blood Transfusion, a member of the Scientific Committee on Megakaryocytes and Platelets of the American Society of Hematology and serves on the editorial boards of the Blood and Transfusion journals. His primary research interests include the pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) where he studies animal models of platelet immunity. His lab also focuses on the pathogenic mechanisms that lead to Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). His lab also fist described Toll-like receptor expression on platelets in 2004 and since then, he has had an interest in platelet-immune interactions. He has authored more than 175 publications in the area of platelet immunology and TRALI.

Shirley Owusu is a Transfusion Medicine Senior Specialist and Head of Transfusion Medicine Unit of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. She is a member of the African Society of Blood Transfusion, American Association of Blood Banks and the International Society of Blood Transfusion. An active researcher with over 45 peer-reviewed publications and has contributed to several book chapters. A current reviewer for Transfusion (AABB). She received the ISBT Award for Developing Countries - Runner up Award Individual for 2012 and 2014 consecutively. Dr Owusu-Ofori has been coordinating CPD training programs in Transfusion Medicine for the NBSG-Central Area.

Dr. Clarke is a Hematopathologist and Transfusion medicine physician. She is the Associate Medical Director, Clinical Services, for Canadian Blood Services and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Alberta. Dr. Clarke is a Past President of the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine and serves on the examination board for Hematological Pathology for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). She is a former program director for the residency training program in Hematological Pathology at the University of Alberta and maintains a strong interest in medical education and residency program accreditation with the RCPSC. She is an enthusiastic medical educator and teaches undergraduate medical students and medical technology students as well as post graduate medical trainees. She serves as a Medical Consultant with the College and Physician’s and Surgeons of Alberta proficiency testing program (ALQEP). Dr. Clarke’s particular professional interests also include: perinatal transfusion medicine, immunohematology, the Canadian and International Rare donor programs and quality assurance in laboratory medicine.

Lilian Castilho obtained a Master degree and PhD in Immunohematology, with a specialization at Centre National dés Référence pour les Groupes Sanguines (CNRGS), Paris, France and Post doctoral in molecular biology of blood groups at the New York Blood Center, New York, USA. She was a professor, researcher and director of the Molecular Laboratory for Blood Groups at Hemocentro-UNICAMP-Campinas-SP, Brazil, and a Scientific consultant at Albert Einstein Hospital–São Paulo-Brazil. She has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles as well as 10 book chapters and one book. She has functioned as advisor for Master and PhD students and supervised and concluded 21 theses. She was the leader of the Brazilian Membership-Consortium for Blood Group Genes (CBGG), Assessor in the AABB Accreditation Program for IRL, Member of the AABB Standards for Molecular Testing for Red Cell, Platelet, and Neutrophil Antigens, Vice-chair of the ISBT Working Party on Red Cell Immunogenetics and Blood Group Terminology, Member of the ISBT Working Party on Rare Donors, Member of the ISBT Jean-Julliard Prize Committee, and Member of editorial boards and reviewer for several journals.

Veera Nadarajan is a haematologist and transfusion medicine specialist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He currently serves as an Associate Professor at the Department of Pathology, University Malaya, consultant haematologist with the Division of Laboratory Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre as well as the Head of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the same hospital. Apart from clinical and research activities, he is actively involved in teaching and training of haematologists and transfusion medicine specialists at the national level. He sits on several national committees with regards to curriculum development, specialist accreditation and quality standards. He has diverse research interests, which include serological and molecular characterisation of blood groups, blood donor care and molecular diagnosis of haematological disorders. He also currently holds the position of vice-president of the Malaysian Society of Haematology.

Jenny has a background in biomedical science, and has worked in both national blood service and hospital laboratories, latterly as a hospital transfusion laboratory manager, before joining the UK National External Quality Assessment Service (UK NEQAS) in 1997. Jenny’s current post has given her a great opportunity to get involved in many different aspects of transfusion medicine both in the UK and overseas, including WHO projects such as developing and delivering training in EQA, quality management and blood group serology. Jenny chairs the British Blood Transfusion Society’s professional affairs and education committee that oversees BBTS qualifications, is a former chief examiner for transfusion science for the Institute of Biomedical Science and a member of the ISBT Immunohaematology Working Party. She contributes to development of national curricula for transfusion science as part of the Department of Health England’s Modernising Scientific Careers project, and is a member of the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH) transfusion task force that coordinates the development of clinical and technical transfusion guidelines for the UK.

Maha Badawi is a clinical hematologist and transfusion medicine physician who obtained her internal medicine, clinical hematology, and transfusion medicine certification from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada after a period of training at the University of British Columbia. She is currently an assistant professor at the College of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She is the director of Blood Transfusion Services at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, and is an executive board member for the Saudi Society of Transfusion Medicine and the Saudi Society of Hematology. Maha is involved in teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainees in addition to training of laboratory technologists. Maha has an interest in medical education and donor motivation in addition to patient blood management.

Ratti Ram Sharma (MD) is currently Head of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research,Chandigarh, India. He has been working in the specialty for last 20 years and has keen interest in Apheresis, Stem Cell biology, blood component quality control and clinical transfusion practice. He has been instrumental in developing the curriculum for M.D. Transfusion Medicine programme in the Institute and established an active therapeutic apheresis and Bone Marrow processing unit in the department and received “Advancing apheresis technology runner-up award” from Terumo Caridian BCT, USA in 2014. Has been recipient of prestigious JR Jolly (2014) & H.D. Shourie (2008) awards of the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohematology for his scientific research & innovative ideas in the field of Transfusion Medicine. Certificate of distinction from the University of Minnesota as a special research fellow in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, USA for his active participation in academic & research activities. He is the Member of National blood safety and hemovigilance programme implementation working groups. He has more than 100 publications both in National and International Journals.