Dr. Catherine Bollard Named Associate Editor of Blood, Journal of the American Society of Hematology

Washington, DC - Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD, FRACP, FRCPA, a senior scientist in Children’s National Health System’s Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at the Children’s Research Institute, has been named Associate Editor of Blood, which is the journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

Dr. Bollard, who became Associate Editor of Blood on March 1, said she is pleased with the announcement and looks forward to continuing innovative research in her field and in representing Children’s National. Dr. Bollard’s term will conclude on Dec. 31, 2016.

Dr. Bollard also accepted the invitation to become an ASH spokesperson on blood cancers in children as a part of a newly formed panel of ASH experts to help respond to the media as news breaks. She is a member of a media experts subcommittee.

David A. Jacobsohn, MD, ScM, chief of the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s National, described Blood as the “most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field of hematology in the world.” Blood provides an international forum for publication of original articles describing basic laboratory, translational and clinical investigations in hematology.

“To have Dr. Bollard picked as an associate editor of this publication is a testament to her outstanding research track record in our field,” Dr. Jacobsohn said. “We are thrilled that she recently joined our facility.”

In October 2013, Dr. Bollard was appointed as senior scientist at the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research at Children’s National.

She also is a principal investigator and co-director of the immunology initiative of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National. In that role, she leads the clinical and research efforts to fight cancer and other inflammatory diseases by strengthening a child’s immune system.

A distinguished hematologist and immunotherapist, Dr. Bollard’s research interests focus on three different areas including developing cell and gene therapies for patients with cancer and underlying immune deficiencies. She also has a specific interest in cell therapies for Epstein Barr virus-associated lymphomas and as head of the non-Hodgkins lymphoma committee of the Children’s Oncology Group is moving cell therapies to the cooperative group setting. Dr. Bollard is also developing gene therapy strategies to counteract tumor immune evasion mechanisms to enhance the efficacy of adoptive immunotherapy protocols.

Dr. Bollard joined Children’s National after serving at the Baylor College of Medicine where she was a professor in the Department of Pediatrics Medicine and Immunology at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Texas Children’s Hospital and Methodist Hospital. She received her medical degree from Otago University Medical School in New Zealand.

Contact: Emily Hartman or Joe Cantlupe, 202-476-4500.