Below is a note from Dr. Chris Cunniff, Director of the Bloom Syndrome Registry, who will be retiring on June 30.

Dear Members of the Bloom Syndrome Community,

After 35 years of work as a medical geneticist and academic pediatrician, I am looking forward to beginning a new chapter and devoting myself to other activities. It has been an incredible pleasure to serve as Director of the Bloom Syndrome Registry, Chair of the Bloom Syndrome Association Medical and Scientific Advisory Board and as a former Board member of the BSA. I will continue to serve as volunteer faculty at Weill Cornell and look forward to working with the Registry and the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board.

My colleague, Dr. Nicole Kucine, will assume Directorship of the Bloom Syndrome Registry and I will take on the role of Associate Director. Dr. Kucine is a Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist and colleague who I have worked with for the past eight years at Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is a clinician who treats children with rare genetic conditions known as myeloproliferative neoplasms, which predispose to development of cancer. She is a strong patient advocate, and I believe she will be an effective leader for the Registry.

It has been a great pleasure and honor to work closely with you, the patients and families in the Bloom syndrome community, and I look forward to staying involved and supporting the efforts of the Bloom Syndrome Association.

Sincerely,

Christopher “Chris” Cunniff, M.D.

Note from the BSA: We will have opportunities to extend our appreciation to Dr. Cunniff at the conference in Chicago, and through other BSA activities, in which he will undoubtedly stay involved. We will also have time, before long, to get to know Dr. Nicole Kucine and hear more about her plans for the Registry. For now, please join the BSA Board of Directors in thanking Chris for his leadership and service to the Registry, and to the entire Bloom syndrome community.