ASCI / Young Physician-Scientist Awards, 2021

Evan Bloch, MBChB, MS, is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he serves as the Associate Director of Transfusion Medicine; he also holds a joint appointment in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Bloch has drawn on his background in anatomic and clinical pathology, transfusion medicine and global health to advance a longstanding interest in the interplay between blood transfusion and infectious diseases, particularly in low and low-middle income countries where transfusion transmitted infection remains a key metric of suboptimal policies and practices. Blood transfusion networks afford invaluable opportunity to study neglected (e.g., Babesia) and emerging infectious diseases (Zika, SARS-CoV2), as donors contribute large volume samples across a diverse geography. Importantly, many —if not most—infectious risks to the blood supply remain neglected (e.g., malaria, bacteria), particularly in low resource settings, whereby research can yield high impact public health intervention. Blood transfusion itself can also be used to contend with emerging pathogens. This is illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Dr. Bloch has been engaged in clinical trials to assess the efficacy of convalescent plasma to prevent and/or treat COVID-19.