Tonight was a touching, hopeful and very exciting evening. After dinner, our group of support group leaders attended the 2015 Brian D. Novis Research Grant Awards Ceremony. Prior to the distribution of awards, four myeloma patients told their stories of how myeloma affected their lives. Every patient’s story demonstrated how a myeloma diagnosis, while very difficult to deal with, changed and positively impacted their lives with growth, strength and determination. It was truly inspiring to see how their transition of living with a myeloma diagnosis brought many positive and far-reaching benefits to them and the communities in which they live. The heart-felt stories created the perfect environment for researchers to understand the impact of their work.

Grants were presented by IMF President Susie Novis and Dr. Robert Kyle of Mayo Clinic to the following researchers: Claire M. Edwards, PhD, Oxford, United Kingdom; Francesca Cottini, MD, Boston, MA; Patricia Maiso, PhD, Pamplona, Spain; Hirofumi Tachibana, MD, PhD, Kyushu University, Japan; Hiroyuki Takamatsu, MD, PhD, Kanazawa University, Japan; Hideto Tamura, MD, PhD, Nippon Medical School, Japan.

It is my hope that these researchers will continue to find ways to combat myeloma until a cure is found.