March 2023 - The iCMLf Prize in 2023 recognizes the work of Ukrainian hematologists in this time of war and disruption. The iCMLf Directors and Advisors have chosen the two nominated Ukrainian hematologists to jointly accept this prize in 2023:

• Professor Iryna Dyagil
  Head of the Department of Radiation Oncohematology, National Scientific Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine,
  Kyiv (Ukraine)
  
  
• Dr Kostyantyn Kotlyarchuk
  Head of the Hematology Department SI ‘Institute of Blood Pathology and Transfusion Medicine NAMS’, Lviv (Ukraine)

The iCMLf Prize recognizes outstanding contributions to the improvement of CML under the challenging conditions of low- and middle-income countries with unequal access to monitoring and access.

‘On behalf of Professor Dyagil and myself I would like to confirm that it will be our great honour and delight to accept the iCMLf Prize. We would like to thank the iCMLf very much for this honour and support of our country in the times of struggle for our freedom and peace.’ (Dr Kostyantyn Kotlyarchuk)

Professor Iryna Dyagil

Professor Iryna Dyagil is the Head of the Department of Radiation Oncohematology, National Scientific Center for Radiatin Medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences in Kyiv.

Despite the on-going war, she is committed to provide high standards of care for her patients. She also makes constant efforts to maintain International collaboration
– a huge challenge given the current isolation of Ukrainian physicians, who can no longer travel, attend International Conferences, or network in person with colleagues from around the world.

Iryna Dyagil has always been very active in studying the effects of radiation using Chernobyl leukemia cases as a model. She is also very engaged in enrolling patients in International clinical trials and in cooperating with several EU institutions – with the ultimate goal to provide her patients with CML in Ukraine with the best possible care.

Dr Kostyantyn Kotlyarchuk

Dr Kotlyarchuk is Head of the Hematology Department at SI "Istitute of Blood Pathology and Transfusion Medicine, NAMS of Ukraine" in Lviv.

Kostyantyn Kotlyarchuk has been involved in the treatment of patients with CML for many years with a strong focus on pregnancy in chronic myeloid leukemia patients.

He has also worked tirelessly – also in close cooperation with the International CML Foundation – to improve diagnosis and testing fro CML in his country. Thanks to his efforts, his home institution, the Institute of Blood Pathology and Transfusion Medicine (NAMS) in Lviv was supported by an iCMLf Diagnosis & Testing grant to train laboratory staff and to set up a CML laboratory, which led to the introduction of molecular PCR monitoring of CML patients in the Western region of the Ukraine.