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About ASH

Scientific Committees

 

Mandate
Scientific committees are responsible for recommending to the Program Committee (via the Scientific Program Co-Chairs) two scientific sessions (1st and 2nd choice), including potential topics and speakers for the Scientific Program of the ASH annual meeting. The Program Committee will generally use these recommendations, yet have the flexibility of developing sessions that might differ from the recommendations of the scientific committees. The scientific committees also assist the Program Committee in other aspects of annual meeting development, including review and evaluation of annual meeting content and schedule.

The scientific committees are also responsible for building on ASH’s expertise in basic and translational science to help define a research and policy agenda for hematology. This includes responsibility for (1) reviewing the scientific content of annual meeting, (2) advising the Executive Committee on science policy priorities, (3) identifying new and underserved areas for research, and (4) updating the ASH Agenda for Hematology Research.

The scientific committees also aid in the identification of opportunities for interdisciplinary research related to hematology (e.g., immunology, vascular biology, cardiology, and trauma) by identifying related scientific disciplines and assisting in the recruitment of researchers in those fields to contribute to ASH programs and publications. The scientific committees also recommend member scientists for consideration by the Nominating Committee for service on scientific committees.

As the membership of each scientific committee represents the experts in their respective fields, the Awards Committee strongly relies on the scientific committees’ nominations for ASH’s most prestigious awards recognizing significant contributions to hematology. Each scientific committee is required to submit, as a committee, at least two (2) nominations for the ASH honorific awards. As part of this mandate, the scientific committees are required to nominate an early investigator for the Dameshek Prize as one of the two required nominations.

Members of the scientific committees are expected to participate in the ASH advocacy activities related to hematology research, such as advising the Government Relations and Practice and Scientific Affairs departments in preparation of comment letters and other communication items to federal agencies and Congress on policy issues related to hematology. Members of the scientific committees are also expected to participate in ASH Grassroots Network advocacy activities, including participating in online advocacy campaigns and attending the Grassroots Network event at the annual meeting.

Chairs and Vice Chairs
Chairs serve a one-year term. The chair will develop and organize the annual meeting program for the scientific committee he/she chairs. The chair works closely with Scientific Program session speakers to clarify the speakers’ roles and responsibilities. The chair has the discretion to request and review speakers’ presentations to ensure that they form a coherent session, provide sufficient context and appropriate translational implications, and meet the ASH presentation guidelines. The chair will develop and organize the annual meeting program for the scientific committee s/he chairs. Every year, a vice chair is selected, typically from among the membership of the scientific committee. Following his/her term, the vice chair succeeds to the chair position.

Members
Each year the President-Elect will appoint new members to the scientific committees to take office after the annual meeting (although they are expected to participate in the scientific committee’s meeting held during the annual meeting). A very high priority will be placed on the scientific stature of the individual and his/her ability to contribute to the organization of the Scientific Program and to potentially serve as an organizer of a symposium in the future. Each member is appointed to a four-year term (unless otherwise specified).

The President, at the advice of the staff liaison, may remove the chairs and members of the scientific committees. Reasons for removal include failure to attend committee meetings, failure to contribute to the work of the committee, conduct that reflects poorly on the Society, failure to comply with the ASH Conflict of Interest Policy, or any other reasons deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee.

Meetings
The vice chair has the responsibility of convening a meeting of the scientific committee at lunchtime on Monday during the ASH annual meeting in order to canvass the members of the scientific committee to evaluate the process and product of the current year’s program. The vice chair will lead the discussion concerning choice of topics and speakers for the next year’s program. In preparation for the committee meeting, the vice chair has discretion to coordinate conference calls to discuss the proposed Scientific Program session and/or other issues of importance to the scientific committee. The vice chair is required to participate in at least one conference call with the Scientific Program Co-Chairs and other scientific committee chairs in the fall to present initial topics and speakers that will be discussed during the December scientific committee meetings. After the meeting of the scientific committee, the vice chair (who becomes chair) is responsible for communicating to the Scientific Program Co-Chairs and staff (by the end of December) the recommendations of the scientific committee with topics for a scientific symposium, and is responsible for working with the Scientific Program Co-Chairs and staff to finalize the program based on input from the Program and Executive Committees.

The chair is expected to attend the annual Scientific Committee Chairs Meeting in February at ASH Headquarters.

Periodic Evaluation
The Committee on Scientific Affairs oversees the activities of and evaluates the scientific committees. All scientific committees are reviewed every three years to ensure that their respective areas of hematology research and clinical activity remain relevant and that the committees continue to serve their communities. Evaluation criteria include: overview of scientific committees’ organizational structure to identify gaps or overlaps; review of committees’ mission statements; results of the peer-review of ASH annual meeting sessions; session attendance; participation in ASH policy development and advocacy activities. The Committee on Scientific Affairs will also consider proposals for ad hoc scientific committees and make recommendations to the Executive Committee.

The following are scientific committees: