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American Society of Hematology Honors
Distinguished Leaders at Annual Meeting
At its 60th annual meeting, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) will present several distinguished leaders in hematology
with its Honorific Awards. Congratulations to the 2018 winners!
Wallace H. Coulter Award
for Lifetime Achievement in
Hematology
Victor Hoffbrand,
DM, DSc, of Univer-
sity College London, is
being recognized with
the Society’s highest
honor for his semi-
nal contributions to
Victor Hoffbrand,
DM, DSc
the fields of anemia,
iron metabolism, and
nonmalignant hematology; his commit-
ment to the mentoring of trainees; and
his significant contributions to hema-
tology education. He also has contribut-
ed to the education and mentorship of
generations of hematologists, many of
whom have gone on to become leading
physician scientists.
William Dameshek Prize
Ross L. Levine, MD,
of the Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center
and Weill Cornell Medi-
cal College in New York
City, will be honored
for his significant
Ross L. Levine, MD
contributions to the
field of leukemogenesis. Dr. Levine is
one of several investigators who have
driven the paradigm shift of leukemia
research from simple identification of
genetic mutations to elucidation of
mechanisms that explain how epi-
genetic modifiers and other variants
mediate malignant transformation. He
has chaired several ASH scientific com-
mittees and is currently the vice chair
of the Committee on Scientific Affairs,
the group that oversees ASH’s scientific
agenda.
E. Donnall Thomas Lecture
Connie J. Eaves, PhD, FRSC, of the
University of British Columbia and BC
Cancer in Vancouver, will be honored with
the 2018 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and
Prize for her outstanding contributions
to the field of hematopoiesis and stem
20
ASH Clinical News
cell research. Dr. Eaves
will present her lecture,
“Blood Stem Cells: A
Simple Concept, but
a Complex Reality,”
at the ASH annual
meeting, highlighting
Connie J. Eaves, PhD,
FRSC
key advances, future
challenges, and exciting
opportunities in hematopoietic stem cell
research. In 2009, she received the Henry
M. Stratton medal from ASH.
Henry M. Stratton Medal
Freda K. Stevenson, DPhil, of the
University of Southampton and South-
ampton University Hospitals in the
United Kingdom, and Brunangelo Falini,
MD, of the University of Perugia and the
Institute of Hematology and Bone Mar-
row Transplantation in Italy, are being
awarded for their seminal contributions
to basic and clinical/translational hema-
tology research, respectively.
Dr. Stevenson is being recognized
for her pioneering work in the biology
of B-cell malignancies and her research
into an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody
treatment for patients with multiple
myeloma. Her other
notable contributions
include the discovery
of a lymphoma-specific
sugar target or “Achil-
les heel” of follicular
lymphoma on B-cell
Freda K. Stevenson,
receptors,
which may
DPhil
be a target for future
therapy.
Dr. Falini is being
recognized for his
seminal contributions
to the understanding
of acute myeloid
leukemia (AML) and
Brunangelo Falini, MD
hairy cell leukemia
(HCL), including work
in the field of hybridoma technology
that has led to the generation of
monoclonal antibodies that are widely
used in the diagnosis of hematologic
malignancies.
Mentor Awards
John E. Dick, PhD,
of the University of
Toronto, Princess Mar-
garet Cancer Center,
and Ontario Institute
for Cancer Research in
Toronto, is the recipi-
John E. Dick, PhD
ent of the ASH Mentor
Award for Basic Science. Since 1988, Dr.
Dick has mentored more than 130 indi-
viduals, fostering a climate of honesty,
transparency, and intellectual curiosity.
A universal theme among his nomina-
tors has been his personal involvement
in their careers, including the time
devoted to mentees both before and
after their time in his laboratory. Dr.
Dick’s trainees widely agree that he has
served as an inspirational role model.
His scientific accomplishments have
earned him ASH Honorific Awards in
the past: the William Dameshek Prize
in 2005 and the E. Donnall Thomas
Prize in 2009.
Reed E. Drews, MD,
of the Cancer Center
at Beth Israel Deacon-
ess Medical Center
(BIDMC) in Boston, is
the recipient of the
ASH Mentor Award for
Reed E. Drews, MD
a Clinical Investigator.
He has spent 20 years of dedicated
service mentoring nearly 120
fellows and 600 students at BIDMC,
where he also started his own career.
His mentees have achieved success in
a variety of settings, including becom-
ing successful clinicians and leaders at
major academic institutions across the
country, as well as pursuing alterna-
tive paths in the biotechnology and
pharmaceutical spheres. Dr. Drews is
appreciated for recognizing the unique
needs and career goals of each trainee
and for the individualized guidance and
mentorship he provides.
Dr. Dick and Dr. Drew spoke
with ASH Clinical News about their
experience as mentors. Turn to page 76
to read their interviews.
ASH Award for Leadership in
Promoting Diversity
Cage S. Johnson, MD,
of the University of
Southern California
in Los Angeles, has
served in several
leadership positions at
ASH, and in doing so,
Cage S. Johnson, MD
he recruited many indi-
viduals from under-represented minority
groups to serve in ASH leadership roles.
He is a founding member and former
president of the EE Just Society, an
organization for minority hematologists
based in Los Angeles. Since the group’s
inception in 1985, Dr. Johnson has taken
many young, under-represented minori-
ties under his wing and supported them
as they successfully pursued careers in
hematology.
José A. López, MD, of
the University of Wash-
ington in Seattle, has
advanced diversity at
his own institution by
training many minority
students in his labora-
José A. López, MD
tory before he became
active in ASH’s programming. For sev-
eral years, he collaborated with medical
schools in Mexico to host students for
summer research electives. Dr. López
spearheaded ASH’s partnership with
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
based on his own experience benefitting
from the Harold Amos Medical Faculty
Development Program. The effort has
funded 18 junior hematology faculty
members since the program started in
2006.
December 2018