Prestigious IMS Young Investigator Award for our student

I had the great privilege to attend the prestigious International Myeloma Society (IMS) 22nd annual meeting in Toronto, Canada, where I gave an oral presentation on our work focusing on extramedullary disease in multiple myeloma. My talk highlighted our findings on the extramedullary tumor microenvironment, particularly the composition and functional state of T cells and NK cells, the key immune effector populations in this setting. I was deeply honored to receive the IMS Young Investigator Award for exemplery abstracts for this work.

I am currently a PhD student, working under the supervision of David Žihala, Ph.D., with the project led by Assoc. Prof. Tomáš Jelínek, M.D., Ph.D. and our research group headed by Prof. Roman Hájek, M.D., Ph.D.

This recognition means a lot to me, not only as a milestone in my PhD journey, but also as motivation to continue contributing to the understanding of multiple myeloma. Beyond the science, I had the chance to meet and interact with many wonderful people in the myeloma community, which made this an inspiring and memorable experience overall. I am grateful for the support of my mentors, colleagues, and collaborators who made this possible.

Anjana Anilkumar Sithara

Updated: 07. 10. 2025