2012-12-04
(WASHINGTON)- The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will recognize Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and David and Lynn Frohnmayer, founders of the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, with awards for their outstanding support and advocacy for biomedical research and the practice of hematology at the 54th ASH Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
Sen. Klobuchar will receive the 2012 ASH Public Service Award to honor her unparalleled leadership as an elected public official on issues of importance to hematology research and practice. Sen. Klobuchar, who was recently elected to serve a second term in the U.S. Senate, was the first person in Congress to bring to light emerging critical shortages of drugs used to treat cancer and other serious ailments and introduced the Preserving Access to Life-Saving Medications Act (S. 296) in February 2011. Her bill, which became the foundation for all further legislative efforts and for legislation ultimately passed and signed into law as part of the reauthorization of the Food and Drug Administration's user fee programs, addressed shortages of certain hematology-related chemotherapy and other lifesaving drugs by requiring prescription drug manufacturers to give early notification to the Food and Drug Administration of any incident that would likely result in a drug shortage. Sen. Klobuchar’s efforts were instrumental in moving this legislative priority forward.
Mr. and Mrs. Frohnmayer will receive the 2012 ASH Outstanding Service Award to recognize their efforts to raise public awareness and increase research funding for hematologic diseases. The Frohnmayers founded the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund in 1989 to pursue better treatments and a cure for the then virtually unknown disease that affected three of their five children. Since the Fund’s founding more than 20 years ago, the Frohnmayers have relentlessly maintained the highest standards of scientific rigor and credibility. They assembled a strong Scientific Advisory Board and have encouraged the best and brightest scientists to pursue the study of Fanconi anemia following National Institutes of Health peer review standards. The Fund’s annual symposia and frequent small, focused meetings are often cited by attendees as exemplary. Importantly, the Fund is the single source of peer-reviewed clinical information on Fanconi anemia and has become a vital psychosocial network for the few thousand families around the world affected by the disease.“ASH is honored to recognize Sen. Klobuchar and the Frohnmayers for their steadfast commitment to advocating for and supporting issues critical to the field of hematology,” said ASH President Armand Keating, MD of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network in Toronto. “Their efforts to improve the lives of patients with blood diseases are truly inspirational.”
The 2012 Outstanding Service Award and Public Service Award will be announced on Sunday, December 9, at 1:30 p.m. EST prior to the Plenary Scientific Session in Hall B5 (Level 1, Building B) at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Reporter inquiries may be directed to Andrea Slesinski, ASH Communications Manager, at 202-552-4927 or aslesinski@hematology.org.
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) (www.hematology.org) is the world’s largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. The official journal of ASH is Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online.
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