Read on for posts from Sagar S Patel, one of our EBMT2019 Young Ambassadors. Along with the other candidates selected, he will be sending in posts before, during, and after the Annual Meeting to share his perspectives on the event. To go back to the Young Ambassadors page and learn more about the rest of the honorees, click the button below.
Day#2
Monday March 25, 2019
Today was a full day of sessions and networking with my fellow Young Ambassadors. Morning activities included attending the educational sessions on preventing relapse in AML/MDS, which remains one of the biggest challenges in transplantation. This was then followed by a lunch-symposium on VOD, featuring a nice debate style format to make it more interactive. The debate format really encapsulates the controversies and wide variance in diagnosis and treatment of VOD. To cap the day, the poster session was a great opportunity to interact directly with presenters - both senior and junior. Finally, we were able to get our Young Ambassador group out for dinner in the city afterwards which was fantastic.
Day#1
Sunday March 24, 2019
After a long flight, it was great to stretch the legs and get started here in Frankfurt, Germany for the EBMT 2019 Annual Meeting. I took some time to explore the various sessions occurring today. There is so much to take in! Of particular interest was a series of talks exploring new methods in graft manipulation in the haploidentical setting. These selective deletion methods strive to reduce GVHD, reduce relapse, while maintaining the GVL effect. The series speakers hailed from Singapore, Sweden, and Italy with collaboration across the globe. This highlights the collective research efforts in the transplant community that we get to witness at the EBMT 2019 Annual Meeting.
How am I getting ready for the EBMT Annual Meeting?
March 11, 2019
With a few weeks to go before the 2019 EBMT Annual Meeting, I am preparing for what will be an unforgettable experience in Frankfurt, Germany. Having recently attended the TCT Meetings in Houston, Texas, USA and now crossing the pond, I am struck by the diverse and dedicated community in bone marrow transplantation (BMT) that is both global and local. It is awe-inspiring to reflect on the physicians, nurses, pharmacists, researchers, and others working tirelessly to advance the field of BMT for patients across the world. Yet, transplant remains an intimate community that values teamwork and collegiality immensely - something that quickly attracted myself to the field years ago. With such a collaborative foundation, we have seen the advent of CAR T-cell and immunotherapies provide novel options for our patients.
In reviewing the official program for the EBMT annual meeting, I am now building my schedule of must-see sessions to attend. First, the latest developments in the field will be presented at the plenary session and this year will certainly include exciting topics in cellular therapy in particular. As I am still a junior member of the field so to speak, I find great value in the educational sessions as the high-yield content helps me provide the best clinical care possible. In regards to the oral sessions, I will be focusing on topics of particular interest to me which include novel treatments for acute and chronic GVHD, changes in allogeneic conditioning regimen approaches, and efforts to reduce the risk of relapse after BMT. In addition, I am very much looking forward to the poster session as it provides a great platform to network and foster discussions directly with the presenters. Finally, even though it won’t be quite summer, I am excited to get out and explore the sights and sounds of Frankfurt.