Last month, members of the Buckley Lab attended the 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, where we were proud to present our work in sickle cell disease research.

Dr. Tara Urner, PhD, presented our latest findings demonstrating that optical measurements of the brain’s hemodynamic response to chronic blood transfusion are associated with cerebral vasculopathy in children with sickle cell anemia. These exciting results highlight the promise of optical biomarkers as a low‑cost tool for early detection and monitoring of vasculopathy development or progression.

Tisha Boodooram presented her research on how the brain changes in patients with sickle cell disease during pain crises, a common and debilitating complication of the disease. Her findings suggest that pain in sickle cell disease is associated with reduced cerebral blood flow and oxygen extraction, which together would be expected to impair oxygen delivery to the brain.

We are grateful to ASH for the opportunity to share our research to this vibrant community.