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Women in Lymphoma Newsletter
Issue #12 - March 2025
Edited by Maia Ananiashvili, Adalgisa Condoluci, Kate Cwynarski
Women in Lymphoma (WiL) began as a small group of passionate female lymphoma leaders in 2019 and has grown into an global collaborative alliance of more than 1,300 mostly female lymphoma clinicians, researchers and educators in over 70 countries.
Our mission is to support and advocate for female lymphoma clinicians, researchers and educators worldwide and to advocate for their leadership and representation in all aspects of the field, promote career development, empower female voices, and work to address gender disparities in the field of lymphoma.
We want to expand our global community and overcome barriers to gender inequity.
Today we have a steering committee of 26 members from 11 countries, 6 New Emerging WiL members, 19 Sub Committee Emerging WiL Collaborators, all who contribute to creating and realising our events and initiatives.
Women in Lymphoma Steering Committee 2025
2025 Co-Chairs - Anna Sureda (ESP) & Florence Broussais (FRA) Immediate Past Chair - Carla Casulo (USA) • Secretary - Paola Ghione (USA)
Maia Ananiashvili (GEO) • Adalgisa Condoluci (CHE) • Jennifer Crombie (USA) • Kate Cwynarski (UK) • Natalie Grover (USA) • Eliza Hawkes (AUS) • Laura Hilton (CAN) Laura Korin (ARG) • Ann LaCasce (USA) • Katharine Lewis (AUS) • Kim Linton (UK) • Carolina Mahuad (ARG) • Sharon Millman (AUS) • Wendy Osborne (UK) • Astrid Pavlovsky (ARG) • Michelle Poon (SNG) • Sabrina Ranero (URY) • Clémentine Sarkozy (FRA) • Laurie Sehn (CAN) • Sonali Smith (USA) • Judith Trotman (AUS) • Meng Wu (CHN)
Women in Lymphoma acknowledges the enabling support of Lymphoma Australia www.lymphoma.org.au
WiL at ASH 2024
The WiL Steering Committee and Partners Meeting, held on December 9, 2024, at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in San Diego, provided an opportunity to reflect on progress and set the course for 2025.
Gender equality was a key focus at the meeting. Insights from our global survey of 237 hematologists from 34 countries (182 women, 55 men) provided a deeper understanding of the unique challenges faced by women in hematology and identified opportunities for career support.
Top: group photo of some the guests at our ASH networking event. Bottom left: Florence Broussais Bottom right: Anna Sureda
__________ Key Achievements in 2024 __________
Celebrating 5 years of growth and accomplishments, WiL made significant strides last year, including contributing to a Lancet Haematology commentary (Anna Sureda, Sonali Smith, Astrid Pavlovsky, and Michelle Poon) emphasizing gender equity in hematology. Metrics collected at key meetings provided valuable insights into women's leadership in the field. The Emerging WiL Call for Applications successfully expanded our network, while partnerships with AstraZeneca HERmatology Initiative, the Women in Pharma Subcommittee, and the launch of WiL Academy Singapore marked major milestones.
On the fundraising front, WiL secured nearly $100,000 USD in sponsorship commitments, supporting our new and ongoing initiatives.
Our educational efforts flourished, including a collaboration with OncLive / Med Newsweek on podcasts and lectures, as well as the WiLing Wednesdays webinar series, which covered DLBCL (March), Hodgkin Lymphoma (June), and Indolent Lymphoma & Career Development (October). These initiatives have strengthened learning and engagement within our community.
__________ Looking Ahead to 2025 __________
We are pleased to welcome Anna Sureda as the new Chair of WiL (2025/2026), who is replacing Carla Casulo (WiL Chair 2023/2024). Carla has had an immense contribution to the growth of WiL and will continue to work on truly inspiring projects as a member of the WiL Steering Committee. Anna Sureda is Head of Clinical Hematology at ICO L’Hospitalet , the Head of the Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tumors Group at IDIBELL and the President of the European Society for Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT).
"I am deeply honoured and grateful to the Women in Lymphoma Committee for electing me as Co-Chair. I appreciate your trust and confidence in me. I am committed to upholding our mission and vision while fostering collaboration and innovation. Together, we will advance new projects and continue making a meaningful impact in the field of lymphoma research and advocacy."
Anna Sureda
The upcoming year will see the launch of the first edition of the WiL Academy in Singapore, an educational initiative designed to support female clinicians from Southeast Asia to participate in newly established CAR-T centres. Priority will be given to female hematologists, and the initiative has received endorsements from APBMT and WHO Academy, with backing from NUHS and major grant applications.
Other exciting initiatives planned for 2025 include:
Med Newsweek OncLive Lecture/Podcast Series, coordinated by Paola Ghione, featuring expert discussions on lymphoma treatment strategies, mentorship, and career development.
AZ HERmatology survey results submitted to ASCO, EHA and ICML.
WiL Mentorship Programme, led by Kat Lewis in collaboration with HEALIO, is launching in early 2025 to offer a structured mentorship platform for members worldwide.
WiLing Wednesday Webinar Series 14 "Demystifying Pharma" (coming soon) is a comprehensive series over 5 sessions which will cover topics such as pharma structure & function, successful research, how to get on the podium and careers in pharma and career development. Plans for upcoming series topics include MCL and a series in Spanish.
Series 14 details & registration coming soon via email from wil@lymphoma.org.au and will also be available on WiL's social media pages. Past webinars are available on our website.
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Thank You to Our Partners and Community
We extend our gratitude to our partners, sponsors, and the entire WiL community for their unwavering support. Your dedication has been instrumental in promoting gender equity, fostering leadership, and expanding our global network. Thank you for all your support and we look forward to another impactful year in 2025!
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Stay connected through our social media channels and website for updates on upcoming events and initiatives, and feel free to share your news in lymphoma with the global WiL community.
