Speakers: María del Mar Mañú Pereira, Eduard van Beers, Raffaella Colombatti
Dr Maria del Mar Mañú-Pereira is the head of rare anemia disorders research laboratory in translation research group on cancer and blood disorders in children at Vall d'Hebrón Research Intitute - University hospital Vall d'Hebrón in Barcelona (Spain). She is also the Scientific director of the European Reference Network on Rare Hematological Disorders ERN-EuroBloodNet, in charge of the definition and implementation of the network scientific strategy and the relations with the European structures for data sharing and the EC-Joint Research Centre, and the coordinator of its European platform of patients' registries on rare hematological disorders, ENROL, and of Rare Anaemia Disorders European Platform, RADeep. She also leads Work Package 3 on patient centered research in the European Rare Disease Research Coordination and Support Action consortium, ERICA. Dr Maria del Mar Mañú-Pereira graduated in Biomedical sciences and specialised in Human Genetics. She obtained her PhD in 2009, with a thesis on epidemiological and molecular genetics studies in the newborn population for rare anemia disorders. In the field of translational research, Dr Mañú-Pereira is focused on development of innovative methodologies; X-omics, red blood cell rheology and mechanical properties characterization, microfluidics and organ-on-chip for integrative diagnosis and personalize medicine. In this context, she is principal investigator of European Commission funded projects EVIDENCE, Erythrocytes Properties And Viability In Dependence Of Flow And Extra-Cellular Environment, GENOMED4ALL, Genomics and Personalized Medicine for all though Artificial Intelligence in Haematological Diseases through a European federated learning platform and SYNTHEMA, Synthetic generation of hematological data over federated computing frameworks to further enhance diagnostic capacity, assess treatment options and predict outcomes in rare hematological diseases.
Dr. E.J. (Eduard) van Beers, MD PhD is internist/hematologist at the Van Creveldkliniek, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, and focusses his research on rare anemias and clinical trials. From 2012-13 he was a visiting fellow at the Hematology branch, NHLBI, NIH, Bethesda, USA. After that he moved to the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, where he was appointed as associate professor in 2022. Amongst others, Eduard is in the steering board or taskleader of several international networks and trials on these topics including, the www.radeepnetwork.eu, www.genomed4all.eu., www.synthema.eu. Next to this he is the coordinator of the transfersal field of action on research and trials within the European Reference Network for hematology Eurobloodnet (www.eurobloodnet.eu) and chairman of Sickle Cell Outcome Registry (SCORE).
Dr. Raffaella Colombatti is pediatric hematologist oncologist at the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Unit of the Azienda Ospedaliera-Universita di Padova, in Padova, Italy. Her main field of interest are Red Cell Disorders, especially Sickle Cell Disease. 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.