Welcome to the September 2021 issue of ReFlections!
We hope you, your families, and your loved ones
continue to be safe and well. The pandemic is turning
out to be more challenging than any of us could have
anticipated, keeping top of mind and focus on our role
and responsibilities as insurers of life and health.
This issue offers several informative articles that
delve into the scientific and medical discoveries that are
pushing medical frontiers forward in exciting ways. The
first, by Dr. Maryam B. Shapland, Vice President and
Medical Director, U.S. Mortality Markets, a new author
for ReFlections, is an excellent review of reactive
thrombocytosis, an important condition to understand.
Dr. Heather Lund, Regional Chief Medical Officer, Asia,
returns to ReFlections with an extensive and detailed
piece providing much of the latest research and
thinking about multiple sclerosis. The third article,
from frequent ReFlections contributor Hilary Henly,
FCII, Global Medical Researcher, is on the topic of
pharmacogenomics, a fast-expanding and vitally
important component in the field of precision medicine.
We also are proud to announce the 2021-2022 grants
awarded by The Longer Life Foundation, RGA’s
research collaboration with Washington University
School of Medicine in St. Louis. The eight newest
grants represent our 24th year of supporting cutting-edge and highly pertinent research into topics relevant
to clinical and insurance medicine.
In this Issue