Ali Bazarbachi, MD, PhD
EBMT CIC 369
Beirut, Lebanon
"I am deeply honored to present my candidacy for the position of Chair of the EBMT Lymphoma Working Party (LWP). With over 25 years of dedicated involvement in the fields of lymphoma and transplantation, I bring a wealth of experience and commitment. I have been a very active member of EBMT, regularly contributing to the LWP studies and activities. The LWP is one of the largest and most crucial working parties of EBMT, serving as one of its pillars. With your support and trust, I anticipate leading it and collaborating with all those who want to contribute to its success."
My Manifesto
It is with profound honour and enthusiasm that I announce my candidacy for the position of Chair of the EBMT Lymphoma Working Party (LWP). With an extensive career spanning over 25 years in lymphoma and transplantation, specializing in Hodgkin and T-cell lymphomas, I bring a wealth of experience and dedication to advancing these critical fields.
As a dual French-Lebanese citizen with MD and PhD degrees from the University of Paris, I began my journey in 1993, swiftly progressing to the role of full Professor in 2004 at the American University of Beirut (AUB). At AUB, I founded and currently direct the Malignant Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation program, achieving JACIE accreditation in 2016 with over 100 annual transplants.
My expertise as a physician-scientist spans basic, translational, and clinical research, focusing on blood cancers, stem cell transplantation, cell biology, and preclinical models of leukemia and lymphoma. My global network fosters collaboration, concentrating on developing targeted therapies and post-transplant interventions.
Beyond research, I have delivered 300+ invited lectures in 40+ countries, mentored numerous students and fellows, chaired Task Forces for Guidelines of the French Society for Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, and served on esteemed international journal editorial boards (e.g. associate editor for "Bone Marrow Transplantation).
For 15 years, I have been an active EBMT member, contributing significantly to the LWP and educational activities. As the Scientific Co-chair of the Paris EBMT 2023 annual meeting, my commitment is evident. My track record comprises over 380 peer-reviewed articles (H-Index: 63), emphasizing my dedication to hematological malignancies and transplantation.
I am filled with vitality and eagerness to continue serving the EBMT as the next LWP chairman. If elected as the next LWP chair, my focus will be to enhance and expand the initiatives and goals of the LWP on multiple levels:
- Enhancing the scientific output of the LWP, while exploring new frontiers, and integrating big data analytics and emerging technologies. This can lead to more personalized and effective treatment strategies, especially when it comes to rare subtypes of lymphoma.
- Initiating and/or strengthening collaborations with other EBMT working parties to address important research topics. The LWP should serve as a forum for discussing complex and challenging patient cases for individual EBMT centers and members. Also, this is an ideal forum which can help harmonizing treatment guidelines in the era of cellular and immunotherapies.
- Establishing solid cooperation with the various lymphoma-oriented cooperative groups in Europe, to facilitate the implementation of prospective clinical trials. This is crucial in a complex regulatory and financially constrained environment. Despite global industry-driven competition, the EBMT and LWP can still make a difference and play a significant facilitating role across national boundaries, especially to help establishing academic CAR-T cell programs (I have already initiated such effort towards producing academic CAR-T cells in my own institution).
- Developing existing and new education and training programs within the LWP, with a special focus on digital/virtual activities (beside the popular and already well-established annual educational courses/workshops). Helping our member to achieve a healthy work-life balance is of utmost importance.
- Supporting early career researchers, by establishing initiatives to support and encourage early-career researchers within the LWP. This can involve dedicated grants, awards, and opportunities for presenting their work at key conferences.
Lastly, the LWP will be open to all interested parties, and my candidacy should not be perceived as an individual effort because achieving the above goals requires a well-structured team effort. The LWP is one of the largest and most crucial working parties of the EBMT, serving as one of its pillars. With your support and trust, I anticipate leading it and collaborating with all those who want to contribute to its success.
With this background and spirit, I am presenting my candidacy, and I hope I can count on your strong support and endorsement.
Note: Voting for the EBMT Elections opens on 5 April. Principal Investigators (PI's) from active EBMT member centres will be able to cast their vote online for their preferred candidate within the open positions. The elections results will be announced live at the General Assembly Meeting on 16 April, during the 50th Annual Meeting of the EBMT. Instructions on how to vote will be sent out to PI's closer to the voting start date.