EndocrinologySix Researchers To Receive Prestigious Awards From The American Society Of Hematology
The American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world"s largest professional society of blood specialists, will honor six scientists who have made significant contributions to the understanding of hematologic diseases. These awards, including the newly created Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize, will be presented at the 51st ASH Annual Meeting taking place December 5-8 in New Orleans.
Past ASH president H. Franklin Bunn, MD, of the Brigham and Women"s Hospital in Boston, will be presented with the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, which was established in 2007. This award, named for Wallace Henry Coulter, a prolific inventor who made important contributions to hematology and to ASH, is bestowed on an individual who has demonstrated a lifetime commitment and made outstanding contributions to hematology, and who has made a significant impact on education, research, and/or practice. Dr. Bunn will receive the award for his leadership in advancing the field of hematology and hematology research for more than 40 years. Throughout his career, Dr. Bunn"s research has represented only a part of his commitment to the field. He has served on many National Institutes of Health advisory groups and councils and as an Associate Editor of Blood, a reviewer and editor of publications about hemoglobin and hemoglobin disorders, and an author of two textbooks. Most importantly, he has been an inspiring teacher of hematology to medical students and a masterful mentor of fellows and junior faculty.
Connie Eaves, PhD, of the BC Cancer Agency, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, will be presented with the Henry M. Stratton Medal, which honors an individual whose well-recognized contributions to hematology have taken place over a period of several years. Dr. Eaves will receive this award for her remarkable achievements in the area of stem cell biology for more than two decades. Dr. Eaves has been on the cutting edge of adapting or introducing technologies related to stem cell biology, especially her ground-breaking techniques of using the long-term culture system as means of understanding the proliferative and renewal properties of normal and malignant primitive human hematopoietic stem cells.
Louis M. Staudt, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute"s Center for Cancer Research in Bethesda, MD, will be presented with the William Dameshek Prize, awarded to an individual who has made a recent outstanding contribution to the field. Dr. Staudt will be recognized for his landmark contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of lymphomas. Dr. Staudt pioneered the use of gene expression profiling to delineate clinically distinct lymphoma subtypes and molecular predictors of survival. He further showed that each molecular subtype of cancer has its own "Achilles heel," which can be discovered by loss-of-function RNA interference-based genetic screens. His work established a new paradigm for understanding the pathways of lymphomagenesis and the interactions of the malignant cell with its environment.
John E. Dick, PhD, of the University Health Network in Toronto, will be recognized with the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize for his pioneering research into the development of human leukemia, which has transformed the view of how leukemia progresses. This prize, named after a Nobel Prize laureate and past Society president, recognizes pioneering research achievements in hematology.
Thomas Maniatis, PhD, of Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and Yuet Wai Kan, MD, of the University of California - San Francisco, are the inaugural recipients of the Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize. This award, named for the late Ernest Beutler, MD, past president of ASH and physician-scientist for more than 50 years, includes a two-part lectureship that recognizes major advances related to a single topic. This year"s lecture will be on the impact of molecular genetic studies of globin genes on the diagnosis and treatment of thalassemia.
For more information, please visit the 51st ASH Annual Meeting Web site.
The American Society of Hematology is the world"s largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. In September, ASH launched Blood: The Vital Connection , a credible online re addressing bleeding and clotting disorders, anemia, and cancer. It provides hematologist-approved information about these common blood conditions including risk factors, preventive measures, and treatment options.
The American Society of Hematology