Max Brodsky, 2018 MD candidate (photo credit: Rian Watkins)
Max Brodsky, a 2018 MD candidate at the College of Medicine, was recently selected by the American Society of Hematology as one of two students nationwide to receive the 2017-2018 ASH Physician-Scientist Career Development Award.
The ASH Physician-Scientist Career Development Award helps medical students gain experience in hematology research and learn more about the specialty by immersing themselves in a yearlong laboratory, translational, or clinical investigation under the mentorship of an ASH member.
"My goal is to incorporate what I learn from the lab, lectures and my mentor into my clinical practice," said Brodsky. "I hope to one day become a physician-scientist in hematology who translates discoveries in the lab to the care of my patients."
Beginning in August, Brodsky will work with Ross L. Levine, MD, a physician-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center whose lab focuses on the investigation of the genetic basis of hematopoietic malignancies. For his research project, Brodsky will examine mechanisms of resistance to the drug ruxolitinib in JAK2/ASXL1 double mutant myeloproliferative neoplasms. He will use an animal model to study how subjects with different mutations in the genes JAK2 and ASXL1 respond to different drug therapies, namely ruxolitinib.
Mara Rosenberg, an MD student at Oregon Health & Science University, was also selected for this award. She will spend the year studying next generation sequencing-based minimal residual disease detection assays for patients with leukemia. Both students will receive a $42,000 stipend, which will help cover their supplies, insurance, educational expenses, salary and meeting attendance.
During his time at Drexel, Brodsky has devoted significant time to research. Over the past year, he has published studies on the risk factors for 30-day readmission in adults with sickle cell disease as well as silent cerebral infarcts and cerebral aneurysms in adults with sickle cell anemia.
The American Society of Hematology is the world's largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood.