Transfusion

Unleash your inner writer – Enter our first-ever lay science writing competition


Thursday, November 15, 2018
Use plain language to tell the story of your research in blood, plasma, stem cells or organs & tissues.

Funding research to improve utilization: Blood Efficiency Accelerator Award Program


Tuesday, October 30, 2018
In 2017, the Centre for Innovation established a new research funding program – the Blood Efficiency Accelerator Award Program or “BEAP”. The BEAP funds research to improve the efficient and appropriate use of blood and blood products. Quick Facts: BEAP was established in 2017 to support research projects that can improve the efficient and appropriate utilization of blood products, while maintaining the safety of the blood system Applicants to BEAP must be affiliated with Canadian Blood Services or a Canadian academic program as a faculty member All BEAP project teams must include one Canadian

Funding opportunities currently open


Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation currently has four competitive funding competitions open for applications. All close on November 30, 2018. Read on to see if you or any of your colleagues or students are eligible for these exciting opportunities! Canadian Blood Services' Graduate Fellowship Program The Graduate Fellowship Program provides stipend support for young investigators who want to initiate or continue training in the field of blood transfusion and transplantation science. The maximum value of each fellowship is $25,000 per annum, with an additional travel allowance of $1

Meet the Director: Dr. Chantale Pambrun


Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Get to know Dr. Chantale Pambrun, Director, Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation Previously led by Judie Leach Bennett, who joined the executive management team as Vice-President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer, Dr. Chantale Pambrun took over as Director of the Centre for Innovation in December 2017. She was formerly associate director, donor and clinical services and, prior to joining us at Canadian Blood Services, she was the Medical Director of Hematopathology at a tertiary health care centre for women and children in Halifax, NS. To get to know Dr. Pambrun better, we

Research Unit: Exploring alternatives to fresh blood


Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Our latest Centre for Innovation ResearchUnit is a collaborative effort between Centre for Innovation adjunct scientist, Dr. Jelena Holovati , and Canadian Blood Services scientists, Dr. Donald Branch and Dr. Jason Acker. For patients with rare blood types, we perform cross-matching tests to match patients with donors and avoid potentially serious transfusion reactions. One such test – the monocyte monolayer assay – has been limited in its usefulness by practical restrictions, for example, the need to obtain a fresh blood sample. Exploring alternatives to fresh blood, the researchers developed

Do you suffer from FOMO?


Tuesday, October 02, 2018
Do you suffer from FOMO? Fear of missing out! Fear no more, the event page on Canadian Blood Services' professional education website has you covered! This is your one-stop shop to learn more about local, national and international education events covering blood, plasma and transfusion, organ and tissue donation and transplantation, as well as hematopoietic stem cells. Here you’ll find a searchable and easy-to-view calendar of conferences, lectures, courses and more. Check it out! Be THAT person – the one who never misses an abstract deadline or early bird registration rate! And - to event

A mission to Mars caps off summer at the Centre for Blood Research


Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Research day celebrates the end of summer and close of the Centre for Blood Research Summer Studentship Program. This year's keynote speaker, Dr. Farah Alibay, an aerospace engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles spoke of her work on the Mars InSight mission.

Meet the Researcher: Dr. Jelena Holovati


Tuesday, September 04, 2018
This week, we connected with Dr. Jelena Holovati about her work as a Canadian Blood Services adjunct scientist and her role as laboratory director of the Edmonton Stem Cell Manufacturing Program. Where do you work and what is your role? I’m an associate professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. I also hold Canadian Blood Services positions as a laboratory director for the Edmonton Stem Cell Manufacturing Program and as an adjunct scientist. By training, I'm a lab technologist – this background has served me really well in my

In the news: UBC research brings us one step closer to universal blood


Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Exciting research from the University of British Columbia could make it easier to match blood to patients, by turning all blood into type O, the universal donor. This work was just presented at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Boston, and has created quite a buzz. I chatted to our Chief Scientist, Dr. Dana Devine, and Dr. Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu to learn more. Led by Dr. Stephen Withers, a professor in the departments of chemistry and biochemistry at UBC, researchers have discovered an enzyme that can turn type A, B or AB blood into type O. So, what is this approach about

In Memory of Dr. Celso Bianco


Tuesday, August 28, 2018
On August 16, 2018, we lost much valued colleague, mentor and friend who had great influence on transfusion medicine around the world. Dr. Celso Bianco served as the Chairman of Canadian Blood Services’ Scientific Research Advisory Council from 2002–2012 and was the recipient of a Canadian Blood Services’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Dr. Bianco has spent more than 40 years researching, teaching and managing issues related to transfusion medicine, transfusion-transmitted diseases and blood safety. He authored or co-authored more than 200 scientific publications on a wide range of topics