Scientific breakthroughs do not become medicines on their own. They require physician-scientists who can recognize a promising discovery, work with laboratory researchers and industry partners to test it rigorously and guide it through the long path toward patient care. 

Dr. John Mascarenhas, MD, has spent his career doing exactly that. For more than two decades, he has worked at the intersection of laboratory discovery and patient care, helping transform scientific ideas into treatments that now change lives. 

A 7-minute walk does not sound difficult until it is January in St. Louis. For graduate student Aishwarya Krishnan, that trek through wind, snow, and slush leads to the mouse facility where long experimental days begin and where the next generation of blood cancer research is taking shape.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are rare blood cancers that often unfold slowly. Some people live with stable disease for many years, while others experience progression to myelofibrosis or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Understanding why these paths differ is a central challenge in MPN research. 

A new study, Genomic evolution and natural history of myeloproliferative neoplasms on therapy, led by researchers including Dr. Jyoti Nangalia, takes a long view of this question (Leongamornlert et al., 2026). The project tracks how the genetic makeup of MPN patients change over time and across diagnoses.