Since 2003, 36 physicians have taken part in the NHF-Shire Clinical Fellowship Program. The prestigious program, funded through the generous support of Shire, was developed to attract new physicians to the field of nonmalignant hematology and support their development as clinician-researchers. The goal is to increase the number of physicians committed to careers in bleeding disorders by providing them with high-quality mentored training. Fellows are nominated by program directors from 23 leading academic training centers in the US. The award provides up to $100,000 annually to support two years of training at the fellow’s institution.
In October, the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) announced the two latest fellowship recipients: Hanny Al-Samkari, MD, of Boston Hemophilia Center/Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University (pictured above left), and Michael H. White, MD, of Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta(pictured above right).
Hanny Al-Samkari, MD
Al-Samkari received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and his fellowship in hematology and medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute-Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) combined program. During his fellowship, his passion for classical hematology strengthened under the primary mentorship of David Kuter, MD, at MGH. Al-Samkari’s fellowship research focused on novel indications for thrombopoietin receptor agonists.
As an NHF-Shire clinical fellow, Al-Samkari will acquire clinical and research expertise in hemophilia and rare bleeding disorders under the mentorship of Stacy Croteau, MD, at Boston Children’s Hospital, and Eric Grabowski, MD, and Larissa Bornikova, MD, at MGH. He also will lead the hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia clinic at MGH under Kuter’s mentorship. Al-Samkari is a dedicated medical educator and a member of the American Society of Hematology Benign Hematology Curriculum initiative. He taught and acted as course master for several courses while he was a fellow and continues to teach medical students, residents, physician assistants and physician assistant students.
Michael H. White, MD
White is a pediatric hematology and oncology fellow at Emory University/Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). He completed his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and completed his general pediatrics residency training at Vanderbilt University. He is enrolled in the Master of Science in Clinical Research program at Emory University, and he has been awarded funding through a National Institutes of Health TL1 training grant for his focus on multidisciplinary clinical and translational science. White is the chair-elect of the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society Fellows Network and is a board member of the International Health Care Foundation.
As an NHF-Shire clinical fellow, White will receive specialized clinical training in the Comprehensive Bleeding Disorders Clinic and Women and Girls’ Bleeding Clinic at CHOA under the mentorship of Robert Sidonio, MD, and Shannon Meeks, MD. In addition to his clinical focus treating patients, White will pursue his clinical research characterizing the management and outcomes of heavy menstrual bleeding in adolescents with bleeding disorders and in those who are taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medications.