Hematology all time.

Janet Rowley unlocked the Rosetta stone to modern understanding of cancer genetics. Her work initially met with lots of skepticism as chromosomal abnormalities were then considered to be effect of disease rather than the cause. However, by 1980s, each of the abnormalities had been molecularly characterized which revealed that translocations create fusion proteins that drive cell growth. Soon, scientists identified many chromosomal translocations in other cancers. Her discoveries was very useful as it led to the greater understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of certain cancers and led to breakthrough therapies like   using Imatinib in Chronic myeloid leukemia and high-dose retinoic acid in treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. She went on to publish over 500 journal articles. She spent her entire career at the University of Chicago. In 1962, she joined as a research associate in the Department of Hematology. She became an associate professor in 1969 and a professor in 197

World Chronic Myeloid leukemia Day is celebrated on September 22, every year to raise awareness about chronic myeloid leukemias (CML). Do anyone know why World CML day is celebrated on this day? It is September 22, so if you write in numbers, it is 9/22, the chromosomal translocation seen in CML.  International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation (iCMLf) is established by a group of hematologists who had a common interest in CML. They collaborate with various patient groups and help physicians and scientists who are managing and doing research in CML. ( https://www.cml-foundation.org/about-us/the-icmlf.html ) On this day, I take pleasure in writing about the “matriarch of modern cancer genetics”, Dr.Janet Davison Rowley who is one of my inspirations in the field of research. Dr. Janet unlocked the Rosetta stone to modern cancer genetics. Dr.Janet Davison Rowley was born on April 5, 1925 in New York City. Her parents were Hurford and Ethel Ballantyne Davison, they were both teache

World Marrow Donor Day (WMDD) is a special day celebrated all over the world, once in a year on every 3 rd Saturday of September and this year it falls on September 19,2020.   It is celebrated to thank all blood stem cell donors, the unrelated donors, family donors, cord blood donors, donors who have already donated and donors who are on the global registry and waiting to donate.  This day is also to raise awareness among the general public and decision-makers about the importance of registering as a stem cell donor and the impact of blood stem cell transplantation on patient’s life. This day is celebrated in more than 50 countries all over the world, reaching thousands of people. WMDD is supported by World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) and   European Society for Blood and Marrow transplantation (EBMT). These two international organisations are professional societies active in the field of blood stem cell/marrow transplantation. These are the Stem Cell Donor Registry availabl

World lymphoma awareness day (WLAD) is celebrated on September 15 every year. WLAD is a global initiative started in 2004 by the Lymphoma Coalition (LC) which is a non-profit organization of 83 lymphoma patient groups from 52 countries around the world to raise awareness of lymphomas. The purpose of WLAD is to raise awareness of both Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma so that the people can recognize symptoms and get diagnosed early and treated on time. Lime green ribbon is for lymphoma and violet ribbon is for Hodgkins lymphoma. Know your nodes, Beacons of hope, the lymphoma club are various campaigns started to raise awareness of lymphomas. All these campaigns are active in European countries and United states. The vision of Lymphoma Coalition is ‘to free the world of lymphomas’. Their mission is to       ·          Be the global source for lymphoma facts and statistics ·          Improve awareness and understanding of lymphomas ·          Build capacity for new and e

  Hi friends, let us get back to something related to hematology in this post.  We will see about the snake venoms used in hematology laboratory tests.   Sl.No Snake Common name Scientific name Commonly seen Venom used Principle Laboratory test 1 Common   Lancehead Bothrops atrox South America (kills more humans than any other American snake) Reptilase Fibrinogen activator (uninhibited by antithrombin so unaffected by Heparin) Reptilase time (commonly used to screen for heparin contamination of a plasma sample) 2 Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix North America Protac Protein C activator The basis for functional Protein C and S assays and for activated Protein C resistance 3 Russell Viper Daboia russelii Asia

This is in continuation with the previous post..  Alphonse miss was taking care of annexe. She had such a charm and smiles always, no doubts everyone likes her and the kids at annexe school were very fond of her. My sister joined in first standard, she used to tell how lovely Alphonse miss was. During Christmas celebration time, annexe kids used to get gifts. Each child had to bring a gift and all gifts will be collected and tied on to ropes for display and any child can take any gift of their choice. Our school thought us the joy of sharing even at a tender age. Library miss was Uma miss. She had a cute smile. We also had value education subject. Short stories with morals and great values were taught. Alex sir was in accounts section.      From left to right: Frederick sir, Lily mam and Regis sir at the extreme right. Our principal, Regis sir’s birthday celebration during my twelfth standard. Collection from some of the rarest photos. Our school not only encouraged us in s

This post is about my school teachers and my school life. LKG to second standard I did my LKG to second standard in Seventh Day Adventist school, Neyveli. My father was working in bank in a small town, Sholapuram, Kumbakonam district which had no proper schools. So, I was staying with my grandparents in Neyveli and did my schooling there. I don’t remember much about my teachers that time. Vague remembrances are playing in a large playground, telling rhymes in chorus, and sleeping in the afternoon. They will make us sleep in the afternoon on mats. This is my second standard school group photo in Seventh standard school, Neyveli. Try to spot me if you can. This photo was taken in school playground. Third standard Third standard, I studied in Seventh Day Adventist School,Pondicherry.   I remember my class teachers' name was ‘Lovely’ miss and she was lovely by nature as well. I could not adjust for the change of school and place from Neyveli to Pondicherry so I used to cry

Today is September 5- Dr. Sarvepalli RadhaKrishnan birthday, being celebrated as teachers day. So I am writing a series of posts about all my teachers who shaped me from the day I was introduced to this world and till now.. Maadha, Pidha, Guru, Dheivam   (Mother, Father, Teacher, God) I am sure all of us must have known this. This is a very popular Sanskrit saying. First our parents, then ‘Guru’, our teachers and God comes only after parents and teachers. It is because in those days, irrespective of your status, whether it was a royal person or a poor man’s son everyone studied under a guru. The parents send their children to Guru and the Guru was the one who imparted all forms of knowledge including spiritual knowledge to their students. Parents handed over their children to the gurus, so the ‘Guru’   comes third in the order and ‘Guru’ guides us to see the God. And finally God   the fourth in   order. I would like to share another Sanskrit phrase or poem. “Guru Brahmaa Guru