The American Society of Hematology will present the following awards at the Society's 57th Annual Meeting in Orlando next month.
Aaron J. Marcus, MD, formerly of Weill Cornell Medical College and the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, will be posthumously recognized with the 2015 Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, which is intended for an individual who has demonstrated lifetime achievement and leadership in education, research, mentoring, and practice. Marcus is being recognized for his groundbreaking research in hemostasis and thrombosis, and for his unwavering dedication to the field of hematology throughout his nearly 60-year career.
"With his pioneering studies on platelets, aspirin, and CD39 and steadfast commitment to patients, students, and colleagues, Dr. Marcus embodied the values of the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology," ASH President David A. Williams, MD, of Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Harvard Medical School, said in a news release. "Dr. Marcus was well known for his dedication, passion, and creativity.
Marcus served as Chief of Hematology-Oncology at the Veterans Affairs New York Harbor Healthcare System and an Attending Physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital from 1958 until his death. He also joined Weill Cornell in 1973 as Professor of Medicine, and became Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. He researched platelets and their interaction with other cells that can lead to thrombosis, atherosclerosis, and inflammation, his research having helped lay the foundation for modern anti-thrombotic therapy for heart attack and stroke. His consistent successes earned him continuous funding beginning in 1958 from the National Institutes of Health and Veterans Affairs Administration. Marcus was chosen to receive the award prior to his death in May.
Alfred Goldberg, PhD, Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, and Paul Richardson, MD, Clinical Program Leader and Director of Clinical Research at the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the R.J. Corman Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, will receive the Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize for their research advances in the area of proteasome inhibitors and their development as novel therapies for multiple myeloma. The award is a two-part lectureship that recognizes major translational advances related to a single topic; and the award recognizes two individuals, one who has enabled advances in basic science and another for achievements in clinical science or translational research. Goldberg and Richardson will present the lecture "Understanding the Proteasome: From Protein Degradation to Disease Therapy" at the Annual Meeting.
John C. Byrd, MD, the D. Warren Brown Chair of Leukemia Research at Ohio State University College of Medicine and Professor of Internal Medicine; Medicinal Chemistry; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; and Veterinary Bioscience there, will receive the William Dameshek Prize for his contributions to the development of transformative treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia-rituximab and ibrutinib in particular. The award recognizes a recent outstanding contribution in the field of hematology. Byrd is also Director of the Division of Hematology and Program Co-Leader of the Leukemia Research Program in the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.
Barbara Furie, PhD, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, and Bruce Furie, MD, Chief of Hemostasis-Thrombosis at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, were selected to deliver the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture for their research in hemostasis and thrombosis over the past 40 years that has made landmark contributions to the understanding of the structure, biochemistry, and function of coagulation and platelet proteins. Bruce Furie also currently directs the Blood Coagulation and Vascular Biology Training Program at Beth Israel, in addition to serving as Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Barbara Furie was also previously Co-Chief of the Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. The Furies will present their lecture, "Thiol Isomerases as Potential Regulators Controlling the Initiation of Thrombosis Formation," at the Annual Meeting.
Curt Civin, MD, Director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and Craig Kitchens, MD, MACP, Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida College of Medicine, will each receive Mentor Awards for their sustained, outstanding commitment to the training and career development of early-career hematologists.
During his nearly 40-year career, Civin has served as the primary faculty preceptor to 49 postdoctoral fellows and nine predoctoral students; and is cited by his mentees for his confidence, optimism, generosity, and passion for combining basic research and clinical expertise as critical elements of his influence on their careers. His research has focused on stem cell biology, Fanconi anemia, and leukemia. Kitchens has helped promote the training and career development of hundreds of clinical trainees and faculty over his own 40-year career. He is described as a role model who emphasizes professionalism and moral values while encouraging trainees to pursue challenging research projects that may be outside of their comfort zone, according to a news release from ASH. His work has focused on thrombosis, and he has contributed to more than 120 publications and more than 40 book chapters.
And also at the Annual Meeting: Nancy Speck, PhD, Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania and Associate Director of Penn's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, will receive the Henry M. Stratton Medal for Basic Science; and Karl Welte, MD, Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Molecular Hematopoiesis at Hannover Medical School, will receive the Henry M. Stratton Medal for Clinical/Translational Science. The prize honors two senior investigators whose contributions to both basic and clinical/translational hematology research are well recognized and have taken place over a period of several years. Speck co-leads the Hematologic Malignancies Program at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center and is an Investigator at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute. Speck's work has made key contributions to the understanding of developmental hematopoiesis, as well as the translation of these findings into leukemogenesis. Welte's work has focused on the study of neutrophil development and treatment. And he led the work to purify and assess the biochemical characteristics of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and to clone and produce recombinant human G-CSF (filgrastim).