Race and ancestry, historically, have been poorly considered in basic and translational research design and clinical diagnoses. This session will describe how race and ancestry can inform hematology research conduct, specifically in clinical and genetic population profiling, interpretation of common hematologic tests, development of diagnostics, and overall precision medicine. The speakers selected in this session have incorporated race and ancestry in their own research and will be sharing their insights to help educate hematology investigators and clinicians understand how to consider race and ancestry into their own research and practice.

Dr. Fox will discuss the intersection between human population genetics, biomedicine, ancient genomics, and Indigenous data sovereignty. This talk will provide perspectives on why community consultation matters in genomics research and in the establishment of benefit-sharing models.

Dr. Eisfeld will discuss race-associated differences in the mutational landscape and the prognostic significance of molecular markers in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in Black patients. This talk will highlight the need for refinement of disease classification and molecular subtypes to enable personalized risk-stratification and treatment options for racially diverse populations.

Dr. Achebe has led the hematology community in incorporating Duffy-null status into clinical algorithms to improve health equity for Duffy-null individuals among Black and African American adults. This talk will highlight how inappropriate blood count reference ranges can propagate systemic racism.