Ayesha Zia, MD

Dr. Zia earned a MBBS degree from King Edward Medical College, Pakistan. Following an internship in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, she completed her second and third years of pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University in Detroit. Since becoming a hematology/oncology fellow in 2009, Dr. Zia presented at the American Society of Hematology and has had five abstracts accepted for presentation at other major hematology meetings. Dr. Zia will continue her specialized training in pediatric hemostasis-thrombosis under the directorship of Dr. Jeanne Lusher. The NHF-Baxter Clinical Fellowship award will foster Dr. Zia’s development as a clinical scientist, allowing her to study clinical research design, statistical analysis as well as pursue research concerning the thrombogenicity of hormonal supplementation in adolescent girls under the mentorship of Drs. Madhvi Rajpurkar and Michael Callaghan, a previous NHF/Baxter clinical fellowship recipient.

Rachael Grace, MD

Dr. Grace joined Children’s Hospital Boston / Dana Farber Cancer Institute as a Pediatric Resident after receiving both her undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Brown University. She has since gone on to become a fellow in the institution’s Hematology/Oncology program and was chief fellow in her final year of fellowship. As Dr. Grace begins her NHF-Baxter fellowship, she will be on staff as a Hematologist at Children’s Hospital Boston / Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

As an NHF-Baxter fellow, Dr. Grace will spend two years developing advanced skills in clinical hemostasis and clinical trial design. Under the mentorship of Dr. Ellis Neufeld, she will continue her work on several ongoing clinical studies. Dr. Grace is currently the Co-Investigator of a study on the genetic modifiers of chronic ITP.

Dr. Grace’s goal is to become a clinical expert in hemostasis and thrombosis as well as a productive independent clinical investigator. She hopes to contribute towards improving the treatment, outcomes and quality of life of pediatric patients with bleeding and clotting disorders through a career in clinical research.

Brian Branchford, MD

Since 2009, Dr. Branchford has been a hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplant fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Denver. Prior to this post, he served as Chief Resident at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin-Milwawukee. Dr. Branchford received his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and his BA in Biology from Lawrence University. He is also a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Colorado Medical Society as well as the American Societies of Hematology, Clinical Oncology and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

As an NHF-Baxter Clinical Fellow, Dr. Branchford will be continuing both his clinical and research training under the mentorship of Dr. Marilyn Manco-Johnson. In addition to this, he will be working in the lab of Dr. Jorge DiPaola on a project researching the microfluidic properties of von Willebrand Disease as well as the role of the TAM pathway in platelet activation and thrombus formation.

In the long-term, Dr. Branchford’s career goal is to serve as Director of a Hemophilia/Thrombosis center, providing clinical care as well as basic or translational research within the structure of an academic pediatric department.

Salley Pels, MD

Dr. Pels joined the hemophilia treatment center at Yale University as a pediatric hematology/oncology resident in 2004 after receiving her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins and her MD from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Her recently-authored poster abstract on immune thrombocytopenia was selected for presentation at the 2009 Plenary Scientific Session of the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society’s Annual Meeting.

As an NHF-Baxter Clinical Fellow, Dr. Pels will spend two years developing advanced skills in clinical hemostasis and learning rigorous methodologies of clinical trial design, completion and monitoring. She will also continue her work on several ongoing studies under the mentorship of Dr. Diana Beardsley.

Dr. Pels intends to pursue a career that includes both academics and research, including clinical work in the broad areas of hemostasis and thrombosis. She is hopeful that this work will lead to better therapies for patients with hemophilia as well as other bleeding and clotting disorders.

Jeremiah Boles, MD

Dr. Boles is currently a hematology and oncology fellow with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received both his BS and MD. His fellowship mentor at UNC will be Dr. Nigel Key. Also involved in Dr. Boles’ training will be Dr. Raj Kasthuri, a former NHF Clinical Fellowship recipient.

The co-author of a number of publications, including many in the field of neuroscience, Dr. Boles has also been honored for his teaching skills. Training received during the course of the program will include rigorous laboratory research as well as career guidance in hemostasis.

Dr. Boles hopes to continue his career in hematology post-fellowship and conduct research that will improve the lives of patients with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders.