This year, 44 trainees will receive $4,000 each to conduct research on blood and blood-related diseases as part of this program, which is designed to expose them to both hematology and research early in their careers and to inspire them to pursue research in hematology as part of their future training.

In addition to receiving research funds, each awardee will receive $1,000 to travel to the 54th ASH Annual Meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta in December. Attendance at this event, the premier annual education and scientific meeting in the field of hematology, provides TRA recipients with many opportunities to network with leaders in the field and to learn about the latest research and therapies in hematology.

For Mannino, this is an area where he has a direct interest. "Mannino knows more about blood transfusions than most people.  Diagnosed with thalassemia when he was just six months old, he’s spent much of his life in clinics, hooked up to transfusion machines for treatment of the disorder – at least once every three weeks for six hours at a time," Mannino stated in an interview with the Cooley's Anemia Foundation. One of the people he most wants to help is his 15-year-old brother, Kevin, who also has thalassemia.  

Mannino has also received a scholarship from the Colley's Anemia Foundation to assist him in studying ways to help his fellow patients. Read more about him on the Cooley's Anemia Foundation website