ASH Clinical News December 2016 | Page 27

UP FRONT

question, and I’ll answer citing
this particular article. Then, the
next day, I’ll ask you a question,
and you’ll answer me by citing
this other article. This is how
academia works!” He was a very
charming and charismatic guy,
and working with him whetted
my appetite for hematology.
When I was a resident, I
worked with Sanford J. Shattil,
MD, when he was the newly
appointed chief of the Division
of Hematology/Oncology at the
University of Pennsylvania. At
the time, I was doing a month
on the hematology consult
service to make sure that I really
wanted to specialize in this field.
I enjoyed hematology in medical
school, but I wanted to gain a
better perspective. Working with
Dr. Shattil was transformative,
and he had a tremendous
influence in steering me into
hematology by showing me what
a gratifying career hematology is.
I have had plenty of mentors
both then and now – many of
whom are close colleagues and
friends: Joel Bennett, MD;
Lawrence (Skip) Brass, MD,
PhD; Sriram Krishnaswamy,
PhD; Marc Kahn, MD; Rodney
Camire, PhD; Valder Arruda,
MD; Morty Poncz, MD, and
others. I see us as a team; we help
each other, critique each other, and
are always there for each other.
We’re all better than we would be
individually. Mentorship doesn’t
stop at a certain point in your
career. Having people whom you
can go to and who you can trust
to give you solid, honest advice is
incredibly important throughout
your entire career.
What advice do you
pass on to early-career
hematologists and
oncologists?
Don’t be afraid of criticism from
your friends and colleagues; it
can be constructive. The natural
reaction is to recoil from it or
get defensive, but I think it’s
better to hear a problem from
your friends and colleagues than
from others. The trick is to be
sure to listen to it.
A few years ago, I was at an
event with James George, MD,
and he gave me a piece of advice
that stayed with me. He asked me
how old I was – which is a little
unusual at my age. I told him, he
considered the answer, and he
said, “Well, you probably need to
reinvent yourself a couple more
times over the years.” He probably

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doesn’t even remember saying
this to me, but it resonated with
me and has proved to be very sage
advice: You shouldn’t be scared
to continue to reinvent yourself
from time to time.
The field of hematology
is always changing, so it
necessitates some “reinvention.”
One change that I don’t
care for is that I don’t see as

“Throughout my career, I have been
reminded of the importance of keeping
an eye on the big picture and not being
afraid to take chances.”

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