PRESS RELEASE
Page 1
14.04.09
The Anthony Nolan Trust’s Scientific Director wins election for
international position
Professor Alejandro Madrigal elected President of the European Group for
Blood and Marrow Transplantation
The Anthony Nolan Trust’s Scientific Director, Professor Alejandro Madrigal,
has been elected President of an international body of excellence in bone
marrow transplant research.
Professor Madrigal is now President-Elect of EBMT, the European Group for
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Blood and Marrow Transplantation, and will take office as President in 2010,
for a four year term. Professor Madrigal received a massive 164 votes from
research centres around Europe for his election to the position, 53 percent of
the votes.
EBMT is a non-profit organisation based in Maastricht, The Netherlands. It was
set up in 1974 to allow scientists and physicians involved in bone marrow
transplantation to share their experiences and develop co-operative studies.
The group began as a European force, but now has members from all over the world including the USA, Australia,
Asia, Latin America and Russia. The aim of EBMT is to promote transplantation of haematopoietic stem cells (the
cells transplanted from donated bone marrow or cord blood) from all donor sources and donor types, including
basic and clinical research, education, standardisation, quality control, and accreditation for transplant
procedures. As well as its work promoting bone marrow transplantation, the EBMT also acts as a regulatory body
for centres carrying out transplants all over the world, evaluating methods to improve the outcome of
transplantation.
Professor Madrigal, who has been involved with the EBMT for some years, most recently as Chairman of its
Working Party on Immunobiology, is enthusiastic about the new role.
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“To be elected as President of the EBMT is a great honour and I welcome the challenge of leading this
organisation over the next four years. I am keen to make a difference by transforming EBMT’s activities
towards becoming a more integrated and scientifically-orientated organisation,” said Professor Madrigal.
“The next few years will bring great challenges to the field of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but I
believe we need to focus on leading and facilitating clinical trials, supporting state of the art developments in
stem cell transplants, initiating novel research, and building on collaborations and communications between
different research centres all over the world,” continued Professor Madrigal.
“As President-Elect for this first year and President for the coming four years I will be able to influence and
direct both the present and future of stem cell transplantation and I will do this with the same principles The
Anthony Nolan Trust has always applied – to provide patients with not only the hope of finding a donor match,
but also greater chances of long-term success with any transplantation,” explained Professor Madrigal.
Professor Madrigal takes over office from Professor Dietger Niederwieser, Head of the Department of
Haematology and Oncology at the University of Leipzig, Germany, and will sit at the head of EBMT’s Board. The
Board consists of the President, the President-Elect, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Chairpersons of the
Working Parties, and the President of the EBMT Nurses Group, and decisions are made by majority voting. If
votes are tied the President has the deciding vote.
The EBMT has Working Parties currently focussing on 11 areas of bone marrow transplant research; these are
acute leukaemia, chronic leukaemia, lymphoma, solid tumours, aplastic anaemia, immunobiology, inborn errors,
infectious diseases, late effects, paediatric diseases, and autoimmune diseases.
Henny Braund, Chief Executive of The Anthony Nolan Trust, is delighted to see Professor Madrigal elected to
such a prestigious position.
“On behalf of all the Trustees, staff and volunteers at The Anthony Nolan Trust, I would like to congratulate
Professor Madrigal on his election to President of EBMT. With his many years of experience in the field of bone
marrow transplant research I am confident that Professor Madrigal will be an asset to EBMT’s work, providing
strong leadership qualities and a clear focus on linking science and medical practice. Congratulations!” said
Henny Braund.
Having started his career studying medicine at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Professor Madrigal
then got a World Health Organisation Fellowship at Harvard University, undertook his PhD degree at the Imperial
Cancer Research Fund London and undertook a postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University. He
joined The Anthony Nolan Trust as Head of Research in 1993 and was appointed Scientific Director in 1995.
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Professor Madrigal was appointed to the Academic Chair of Haemotology at the Royal Free and University
College Medical School, London University, in 1997, and, in recognition of his achievements, he was awarded an
honorary Doctor of Science degree from London University in 2002. He was also awarded a second honorary
Doctor of Science degree from Nottingham Trent University in 2008. Professor Madrigal’s honours for his
contribution to advancing bone marrow transplantation and investigating new forms of cellular therapy for
leukaemia patients are worldwide, including distinction of ‘Academic’ from the National Academy of Medicine in
Mexico, the honorary degree of ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ from the Odessa State Medical University, Ukraine, and
honorary membership of the Scientific Council of the National Research Center, Institute of Immunology, Federal
Medico-Biological Agency of Russia. Among the awards he has received is the Van Bekkum Award from the EBMT,
which was presented for best scientific contribution in 2007. Professor Madrigal is also Chairman and Coordinator of Allostem, an EU-funded immunotherapy project which brings together the work of 29 leading
research groups.
Among Professor Madrigal’s work for The Anthony Nolan Trust, highlights include initiating a cord blood
programme for collecting and researching haematopoietic stem cells from cord blood and setting up The
Anthony Nolan Cell Therapy Centre in Nottingham.
The Anthony Nolan Trust maintains a register of bone marrow donors in the UK and also funds vital research into
the effectiveness and safety of bone marrow transplants. There are currently 16,000 people worldwide in
desperate need of a life-saving bone marrow transplant.
<<ends>>
Notes to Editor
For more information on this press release contact: Marcus Stanton on 07900 891 287.
For more information on how to save a life, please contact the Anthony
www.anthonynolan.org.uk or call 020 7284 1234. Please print our contact details.
Nolan
Trust
at
About The Anthony Nolan Trust
1. The Anthony Nolan Trust is simply a lifeline; providing life saving bone marrow donors to hundreds of
children and adults waiting for transplants. The Anthony Nolan Trust also undertakes vital research
leading to improvements in the effectiveness and safety of bone marrow transplants.
2. More individuals aged 18- 40 are urgently needed to join The Anthony Nolan Trust's bone marrow
register. The Anthony Nolan Trust specifically needs to recruit more donors from all BME backgrounds.
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3. The criteria to join The Anthony Nolan Trust’s register and become a perfect match are: must be aged
18-40, be in good health, weigh more than eight stone (51kg), have a BMI of less than 35, and be willing
to donate to any patient you may ever match.