In June 2008, Bayer HealthCare announced more than $2.5 million in funding through its Bayer Hemophilia Awards Program (BHAP). The program granted awards to 21 clinicians and researchers from 12 countries for individual hemophilia-related research activities and clinical projects. The recipients, selected by a 16-member Grant Review and Award Committee, were honored during the World Federation of Hemophilia’s 2008 World Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, June 1-4, 2008.

“The program is founded on the belief that we can make much faster progress by leveraging the talent, motivation and passion of individuals from all walks of hemophilia care,” said Gunnar Riemann, PhD, member of the Executive Committee of Bayer HealthCare. “I congratulate all of this year’s awardees and wish them the very best in their endeavors.”

The 2008 BHAP recipients are:

Special Project Awards – provide support for scientific research.

• Anne Angelillo-Scherrer, University Medical Center and University of Lausanne, Switzerland
• Rolf Ljung, Universitetssjukhuset MAS, Malmo, Sweden
• Carol Miao, Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA
• Kazuo Ohashi, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Japan
• Guowei Zhang, Blood Research Institute, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
• X. Long Zheng, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Early Career Investigator Awards – provide salary support and research funds for junior faculty members to undertake mentored basic and/or clinical research projects.

• Antonio Coppola, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy
• Mona Dhiraj Shah, Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
• Keith Gomez, The Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, UK
• Joerg Schuettrumpf, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Clinics, Frankfurt, Germany

Clinical Scholarship Awards – facilitate the development of specialized clinical expertise for applicants who have completed medical training.

• Michela de Mattio, University of Milan, Italy
• Sylvia Reitter, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
• Amit Soni, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Orange, California, USA

Hemophilia Caregivers Education Awards – support continuing education for caregivers and allied health professionals.

• Elena Baccalandro, University of Milan, Italy
• Lesturuge Dhammika, National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Mukesh Garodia, Hemophilia Society Guwahati Chapter, Guwahati, Assam, India
• Kate Khair, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK
• Apurba Mitra and Jayanti Basu, The Haemophilia Society Calcutta Chapter, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
• Luz Graciela Villalaz, Fundacion Panamena De Hemofilia/Hospital Del Nino, Panama City, Republic of Panama
• Jie Zhao, Nanfang Hospital, Gangzhou, China

Source: Bayer press release dated June 3, 2008