Advancing science and honouring legacy: Canadian Blood Services and the BEST Collaborative

The Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative is an international research organization that focuses on improving the safety of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. The Collaborative engages members from around the globe in activities related to standardization of techniques, publication of guidelines, development of procedures and the conduct of clinical trials. 

Canadian Blood Services’ connections to BEST Collaborative 

Canadian Blood Services is a blood services member of the Collaborative, represented by development scientist Dr. Geraldine Walsh and associate director of research, Dr. William (Bill) Sheffield.

Several other members of Canadian Blood Services’ research network also apply their expertise on a global scale as scientific members of BEST. This includes Dr. Jason Acker, Canadian Blood Services senior research scientist and team leader for BEST; as well as Mindy Goldman MD, medical director of donation policy and studies at Canadian Blood Services and scientific member of BEST.   

Dr. Acker joined BEST as a blood services representative in 2013 and advanced into his current role as co-chair of the conventional components committee and member of the executive committee in 2023. He describes his time with BEST as: 

“A truly exceptional opportunity to work collaboratively with the thought leaders in transfusion science, industry and at our international blood services to tackle the BIG questions facing transfusion medicine. Through our work on BEST, Canadian Blood Services has contributed to a large number of studies which have helped inform standards and practices in transfusion which has enhanced patient care.” 

Selected recent publications from BEST Collaborative that have involved Dr. Acker include: 

• Risk factors for T-cell lymphopenia in frequent platelet donors: The BEST collaborative study. Transfusion (2023). 
• Quality assessment of red blood cell concentrates from blood donors at the extremes of the age spectrum: The BEST Collaborative Study. Transfusion (2023).  
  • Note: This publication is acknowledged as a Top Cited Article from Transfusion for 2024!

Dr. Goldman has been a member of the donor studies team at BEST for over 10 years, first as a Canadian Blood Services representative and then as a scientific member. Says Goldman:   

“The BEST collaborative has allowed me to expand my horizons in transfusion medicine and work collaboratively with physicians and scientists from many other organizations on donor research topics of interest to all our organizations.   Canadian Blood Services has been a contributor to many interesting international BEST studies.” 

Selected recent BEST Collaborative publications featuring Dr. Goldman include:  

• Blood donor eligibility criteria for medical conditions: A BEST collaborative study. Vox Sang (2022). 

New fellowship honours Dr. Devine’s legacy

The late Dr. Dana Devine served as president of the BEST Collaborative after being elected September 2022. She had contributed as a scientific member and leader of the conventional components team  in years prior and is renowned for leaving an indelible mark on blood science and education. To honour her legacy and celebrate her impact, BEST established the Dana Devine Fellowship in late 2024 to inspire future generations to continue her transformative work. 

Ten recipients from around the globe were selected through an application process facilitated by BEST. Through BEST, these Fellows will each receive the unique opportunity to partner with one or more of the BEST Collaborative’s scientific members as a mentor and to co-lead a study with BEST. 

In a social media post in November 2024, BEST’s current president, Rebecca Cardigan shared a statement about the award opportunity: “These fellowship awards are an opportunity for early-mid career professionals to get involved in BEST and will allow the 10 recipients to attend our meetings until fall 2026, contribute to studies and then be able to apply to be an elected scientific member of BEST.” 

Among the ten distinguished recipients, two are uniquely connected to Canada’s transfusion medicine landscape: Dr. Antoine Lewin of Héma-Québec is located in Montreal, and Dr. Aggrey Dhabangi from Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Uganda, completed training in 2019/2020 as a transfusion medicine physician trainee with Canadian Blood Services medical officer, Dr. Mickey Zeller while at McMaster University.

“The international representation of recipients of this award really does speak to the global impact Dr. Devine has had and will continue to have," says Dr. Isra Levy, vice president, medical affairs and innovation, Canadian Blood Services.

Further to the Dana Devine Fellowships, Canadian Blood Services has also introduced an award in Dana’s honour – the Canadian Blood Services Dana Devine Award. This award is delivered in partnership with the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine (CSTM) and was presented for the first time at the 2024 CSTM Annual Conference. The recipient of this award delivers a lecture at the conference and receives an award valuing $750.00.  Dr. Melika Loriamini was the inaugural recipient of this award in 2024.

Congratulations to all of the recipients!  

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact. 

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.