Donald R. Branch1,2, Jin Ye Yeo3
1Centre for Innovation, Canadian Blood Services; 2Department of Medicine and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 3AOB Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company
Correspondence to: Jin Ye Yeo. AOB Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company. Email: aob@amegroups.com
This interview can be cited as: Branch DR, Yeo JY. Meeting the Editorial Board Member of AOB: Dr. Donald R. Branch. Ann Blood. 2024. Available from: https://aob.amegroups.org/post/view/meeting-the-editorial-board-member-of-aob-dr-donald-r-branch.
Expert introduction
Dr. Donald R. Branch (Figure 1) received his Bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and Cell & Molecular Biology from San Francisco State University. He is certified in clinical medical technology as a medical laboratory scientist as well as clinical toxicology, after completing an internship at St. Luke’s Hospital in San Francisco. He obtained his Specialist in Blood Banking from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. He obtained his PhD in Immunology from the University of Alberta under the mentorship of Dr. Larry J. Guilbert and did postdoctoral training in signal transduction under Dr. Gordon B. Mills in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Branch is currently Professor appointed in both Medicine (Division of Hematology) and Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Dr. Branch is employed by the Canadian Blood Services in Toronto and is a Senior Scientist in their Centre for Innovation.
Dr. Branch has published more than 200 original research papers in the fields of transplantation, hematology, cancer, signal transduction, infectious disease, and transfusion medicine. He has received awards of distinction for his work in transfusion and transplantation medicine from the American Society of Hematology; the Morten Grove-Rasmussen Memorial Award, Sally Frank Memorial Award and Lectureship, Tibor Greenwalt Memorial Award and Lectureship, and the Dale A. Smith Memorial Award, all from the AABB (American Association of Blood Banks/Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapeutics); the Ortho Award from the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine; the Kay Beattie Lecture Award from the Michigan Association of Blood Banks; and the Helen I. Battle Award from the Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario.
Dr. Branch is currently focused on immunotherapy and interaction of phagocytes with antibody-opsonized cells. His projects relate to the mechanism of action and replacement of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). He is also interested in examining a role and mechanism for phagocytosis in sickle cell disease patients and also examining NK and CD8+ T-cells as effectors for hemolysis in cases of hyperhemolysis in sickle cell patients and/or DAT-negative hemolytic anemia.
Figure 1 Dr. Donald R. Branch
Interview
AOB: Could you share what inspired you to dedicate your research to immunopathology and hematopathology?
Dr. Branch: When I was training to be a medical laboratory technologist, I especially had a talent for the blood bank section during the training. I was particularly interested in the identification of antibodies to red blood cells in patients that required transfusion. During this training, I became very good at identifying potentially important alloantibodies in recipients that required blood transfusion. We had to send out samples for confirmation of antibodies that I had identified and this institution, in San Francisco, became astounded by my prowess for this aspect of blood transfusion medicine. So much so, that their staff members, some of whom were world famous, wondered “who is that guy that is so good at identifying alloantibodies, even multiple alloantibodies?” This resulted in one of the most famous transfusion medicine specialists, George Garratty, becoming a mentor and getting me to focus my future career on immunopathology/hematopathology (transfusion medicine).
AOB: Could you provide an overview of the current publication landscape in autoimmune hemolytic anemia? What are some of the research gaps that need to be addressed?
Dr. Branch: The publication landscape in autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) has not really changed much over the past few decades. The bible for AIHA remains the Petz & Garratty book, “Immune Hemolytic Anemias”, first published in 1980 that still remains the go-to source to learn about AIHA. There are however research gaps. One is whether warm AIHA (wAIHA), in some cases, perhaps a majority of wAIHA, represents an exacerbation of red blood cell senescence. Another gap is whether there are biomarkers that can identify AIHAs, perhaps at an early stage, before overt hemolysis. Treatments continue to require exploration and the development of monoclonal antibodies that can block certain complement pathways has been a boost to treat certain AIHAs. More work on monoclonal antibody therapies is still required, especially for wAIHA.
AOB: Could you share some ongoing projects you are involved in? How will these projects contribute to the future of hematopathology and transfusion medicine?
Dr. Branch: Currently I am using an in vitro phagocyte assay to evaluate patient’s antibodies to donor red blood cells in order to assist hospital blood transfusion services with their selection of the safest blood to transfuse into these patients. I am also using a modified, but similar, assay to assess phagocytosis using inflammatory M1 macrophages and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages. This work is focused primarily on exploring contributions to the hemolysis in sickle cell disease (SCD). I also have a project to assess the role of natural killer (NK) cell killing in patients who have unexplained hemolysis, i.e., sero-negative AIHA. The hope is that this work will provide some mechanistic information about phagocytosis in immune hemolytic anemias and perhaps lead to novel therapeutic development.
AOB: Looking back on your academic journey thus far, what do you consider to be the most significant achievement/milestone? What are some factors that you believed contributed significantly to your success?
Dr. Branch: I believe that I have achieved a number of significant achievements over the past 50 years. Most significant are: (1) My invention of ZZAP, a reagent that removes auto-IgG from the red blood cells of patients with AIHA allowing for the detection of underlying potentially clinically significant alloantibodies that could result in a hemolytic transfusion reaction (HTR). My ZZAP reagent is considered the “gold standard” in transfusion medicine and it is used throughout the world. (2) My description of the use of dithriothreitol (DTT) in antibody identification, which is now done throughout the world of transfusion medicine. (3) My description of the only cell-surface-expressed inhibitor of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the Gb3/Pk glycosphingolipid. (4) My original description of a neuropeptide receptor family as controlling HIV infection. (5) My original findings that in marrow ablative bone marrow transplantation, host cells can repopulate the patient as well as donor cells, reducing the risk of graft-vs-host disease (GVHD); I coined the term “mixed hematopoietic chimerism.” These are what I consider my major achievements and these came about, I believe, due to my constant thinking outside of the box, not thinking linearly but always trying to find something new to investigate and going wherever the experimental results lead which often has led to serendipitous discoveries over my career.
AOB: Looking ahead, what do you anticipate to be the next significant advancement in your area of expertise?
Dr. Branch: The next advancements will involve successful development of artificial or farmed blood. Also, enzymatic treatment of blood groups A, B and AB to convert these blood types to blood group O will eliminate the need to blood type in transfusion services. Artificial intelligence will become an integral part of transfusion services, for the selection of blood and identification of potentially clinically significant antibodies.
AOB: As the recipient of numerous awards for your work in transfusion and transplantation medicine, what advice do you have for researchers/doctors who wish to excel in these fields?
Dr. Branch: Certainly, luck has something to do with it. Having good mentors, which I was blessed with, is critical. Finally, you cannot be a linear thinker in science. You need to have a good imagination and be able to think outside of the box to be successful and make important contributions. For example, August Kekulé discovered the benzene ring structure in a dream with snakes forming the structure, very out of the box.
AOB: How has your experience been as an Editorial Board Member of AOB?
Dr. Branch: My experience as a member of AOB editorial board has been great. There has not been any pressure on me, and I have seen the journal expand and become more impactful.
AOB: As an Editorial Board Member, what are your expectations for AOB?
Dr. Branch: I expect the journal to increase its number of publications per year and in its impact.