Li Chai, MD, former Yale Transfusion Medicine Fellow and now Associate medical director of Adult Transfusion Medicine at the Department of Pathology at BWH and Assistant professor of Pathology at Harvard, was recently honored with the 2013 V Foundation MDS Grant. The MDS Grant was established in honor of Good Morning America co-host Robin Roberts, and is awarded to support those dedicated to finding a cure for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
A blood banker and associate pathologist at BWH, Chai is being recognized for her research in targeting leukemic stem cell factors in MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She is one of two MDS grant recipients this year and will receive $600,000 over three years to fund her research.
The V Foundation for Cancer Research was formed by ESPN commentator and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano. Since being established in 1993, the V Foundation has awarded more than $115 million in cancer research grants nationwide and awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations to cancer research and related programs. The foundation is guided by an elite, all-volunteer Scientific Advisory Board, which recommends the research projects funded. This board is comprised of top physicians and research scientists from prominent universities and cancer centers nationwide.