ANNOUNCING THE CHICAGO MPN ROUNDTABLE

May 2011

Beginning in 2010 the MPN Research Foundation began playing host to a gathering of MPN specialists in the Chicago area, recruiting doctors from RUSH, Northwestern, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Loyola. This group, known now as the Chicago MPN Roundtable, was conceptualized as a way to draw clinicians and researchers from local hospitals and universities into a discussion about patient care, recruitment for research and the potential of inter-institution collaboration.

The Chicago MPN Roundtable are working on the following projects:

• MPN/MDS Rounds Roundtable co-chairs Laura Michaelis and Brady Stein (Loyola and Northwestern, respectively) together with member Jamile Shammo (Rush) are working with the MPD Foundation and Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation to host an information session for clinicians in the Chicago area. These sessions, known as MPN/MDS Rounds, offer doctors access to the latest research and/or best practices for clinical care.
• Access to ongoing research A goal of the Chicago MPN Roundtable is to create a central point of contact for Chicago area patients interested in considering a clinical trial.
• Collaborative publication The Chicago MPN Roundtable is working on ideas for collaborative research and publication. The group has drafted a proposal for a retrospective research project on MPN which will involve multiple local institutions working together for a joint research project.

The Chicago MPN Roundtable will affect the MPN patient community by reducing barriers to communication between institutions as well as disseminating information to clinicians that could improve their care. We’re proud to be a part of this and hope to create a good model for establishing MPN Roundtables elsewhere.