Incyte is now accepting entries for the third annual Incyte Ingenuity Awards Program, which aims to foster collaboration to develop novel solutions that support those living with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a rare condition that occurs when donor stem cells attack the transplant’s recipient’s organs, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Meredith Cow​den, MA, LPCC-S, Incyte Ingenuity Awards judge and founder of The Meredith A. Cowden Foundation discusses GVHD, struggles faced by those impacted, and how this award can give the GVHD community hope for their future beyond this devastating disease. ​The awards will fund two novel initiatives, awarding up to $100,000 and $35,000, respectively, to support projects of different scales. Applications are due June 24, 2022, and can be submitted online at Incyte Ingenuity Awards Program

Meredith Cowden, MA, LPCC-S, Incyte Ingenuity Awards Judge and Founder of The Meredith A. Cowden Foundation

Meredith Cowden, MA, LPCC-S, received her Master of Arts degree in Art Therapy and Counseling from Ursuline College in Ohio in 2011. She is working as a psychotherapist in private practice with LifeStance Health, Inc. Her therapeutic work is primarily focused on trauma, building personal resilience, and living with chronic illness.

Meredith is a cancer survivor of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and had an allogeneic bone marrow transplant in 2001. This subsequently led to the development of chronic GVHD, which she has been living with for 20 years. Since this diagnosis, Meredith has focused on education and support for those who are living with the aftereffects of a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Her family started The Meredith A. Cowden Foundation in 2007 to address educational and support needs surrounding blood cancers, HSCT, and GVHD. The Foundation’s mission is to raise awareness of the impact of leukemia and GVHD, to fund research for GVHD, and to provide financial support for nonmedical expenses associated with blood cancers.

Meredith has collaborated with nbmtLINK, BMTinfonet, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and several additional national and international organizations, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies, specifically presenting on life post-transplant and living with chronic GVHD. Additionally, she has been a member of the NIH GVHD Consensus Consortium Steering Committee and led the 2020 NIH Chronic GVHD Consensus Conference Patient Advocacy Summit. She is currently chairing the NIH Patient Advocacy Advisory Committee (PAAC), working to address unmet needs of patients.

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