The Society Pages
Peter C . Nowell , MD
( 1928-2016 )
Peter C . Nowell , MD , an acclaimed researcher and co-discoverer of the Philadelphia chromosome , which pointed for the first time to a genetic basis for cancer , died on December 26 , 2016 , from complications of Alzheimer disease .
Dr . Nowell earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1952 , did a rotating internship at Philadelphia General Hospital , and trained in pathology at Presbyterian Hospital . He spent two years at the U . S . Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory in San Francisco studying radiation and bone marrow transplantation before returning to the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine as an instructor and later as a professor in the Department of Pathology . He served as chairman of the department from 1967 to 1973 and was the first director of the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center , now known as the Abramson Cancer Center . He received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award , the 1998 Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award , and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science . In 2015 , the endowed Peter C . Nowell , MD , Professorship was established in his honor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine . He is survived by sons Timothy and Michael , daughters Karen and
Kristin , a brother , and seven grandchildren .
“ I can still remember his phone call to my mentor Frank Gardner , MD , then chief of medicine and section of hematology at Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center , where I was training as a fellow . He requested clinical materials from patients with myeloproliferative disorders , myelodysplastic syndromes , and chronic lymphocytic leukemia for his research , and I was luckily assigned to work with him .
I would personally drive the bone marrow samples to his office at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and spend time picking his brain about the diseases we were collaborating on . Correlating his chromosome findings with my clinical observations resulted in many published papers . Our collaboration lasted throughout his career until he retired .
Despite the accolades he received throughout his career , Dr . Nowell was short on hubris , his family said . He liked to remind listeners that he was always a third-stringer on any athletic bench , that his ineptitude with hand tools was legendary , and that his medical students had to suffer through his frequent puns .”
−Submitted by Emmanuel C . Besa , MD , from Thomas Jefferson University
“ Peter Nowell was my lab instructor in medical school and the first to plant the seed in me of embarking on a career in hematology / oncology , and , ultimately , in leukemia . He was the only lecturer we had in our early medical school years who did not use any slides – he didn ’ t need to , as he communicated clearly and concisely , and minimized his own accomplishments , describing them as being not a stroke of genius , but instead the consequences of his being a good observer . He explained to us that his parents , both teachers in a Quaker school outside of Philadelphia , taught him how to teach ‘ without props .’ He taught me the basics of cancer genetics and cancer epidemiology , and his examples are ones I still use in teaching my own medical students and trainees . He remains a role model of modesty , and of the importance of being able to describe my own research , and why I find it compelling using plain language that anyone can understand .”
−Submitted by Mikkael Sekeres , MD , MS , director of the Leukemia Program at Cleveland Clinic , and Editor-in-Chief of ASH Clinical News
Niels Borregaard , MD ,
PhD ( 1951-2017 )
Niels Borregaard , MD , PhD , former Associate Editor of Blood , passed away from lung cancer in Copenhagen , Denmark , on January 10 , 2017 . Dr . Borregaard received his MD in Aarhus , Denmark , where he also completed his doctoral thesis on the activated neutrophil . Between 1982 and 1984 , he worked with Robert A . Clark and Alfred I . Tauber in Boston . In 1998 , he was appointed professor of hematology at Rigshospitalet and the University of Copenhagen . He was also the Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Haematology for 14 years until 2014 .
Dr . Borregaard ’ s research involved innate immunity with a focus on antibiotic peptides and neutrophil granulocytes – their formation , structure , and function . He published many papers in the field of neutrophil cell biology and has been awarded several honors for his work .
Dr . Borregaard is survived by his wife and four children .
Read a tribute from his former Blood colleagues at bloodjournal . org / page / niels-borregaard .
Laurence Boxer , MD
( 1940-2017 )
Laurence ( Larry ) Boxer , MD , a dedicated pediatric hematologist / oncologist , passed away from myeloma on January 7 , 2017 . Dr . Boxer was born in Denver , Colorado . He received his BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his MD from Stanford University School of Medicine . He completed his pediatric residency at Yale University and Stanford University and his pediatric hematology / oncology fellowship at
Boston Children ’ s Hospital of Harvard Medical School .
Dr . Boxer began his career as an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1975 . In 1982 , he joined the University of Michigan Medical School as professor and director of the Division of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology . He was honored as the inaugural Henry and Mala Dorfman Family Professor of Pediatric Hematology / Oncology in 2003 . His personal academic interests in the study of neutrophils and disorders of neutrophil biology led to multiple advances in the diagnosis and care of patients with defective neutrophil function and failed neutrophil development .
The University of Michigan established the Laurence A . Boxer , MD , Research Chair of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases in 2010 . In 2016 , Dr . Boxer received the ASH Mentor Award in recognition for his service as a research mentor , educator , and career advocate to several generations of trainees during his 40-year career in pediatrics .
Dr . Boxer is survived by his wife of 47 years Grace Jordison Boxer , son David , and grandchildren Samuel and Olympia .
14 ASH Clinical News February 2017