ASH Honorific Awards
ASH's most prestigious awards, the Honorific Awards recognize hematologists who have made significant contributions to the field of hematology through research, education, leadership, and practice. The nominations cycle for the 2025 Honorific Awards is now open until July 15, 2024.
Learn about the 2023 Honorific Award Recipients.
Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology
The Society's highest honor, the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a lasting commitment to the field of hematology through outstanding contributions to education, research, and practice. The prize is named for Wallace Coulter, an engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur who applied engineering principles to solving biomedical problems. It commemorates Mr. Coulter's important innovations in diagnostic and investigative medicine in the 20th century and his impact on the disciplines of cell biology, hematology, immunology, and oncology, as well as on industrial processes. Nominees and nominators for this award do not need to be ASH members for a nominee to be considered.
2023 Award Recipient: Blanche P. Alter, MD | View Award Information
ASH Award for Leadership in Promoting Diversity
The ASH Award for Leadership in Promoting Diversity serves as a visible example of the respect that ASH has for those committed to diversity and the inclusion in hematology of those who face barriers to success because of societal disadvantages. The award honors hematologists who have supported the development of an inclusive hematology workforce, who have encouraged the career development of underrepresented minority trainees, who have made the commitment to inclusiveness in contributions to the mission of ASH, or whose work has aimed to eliminate health disparities in the care of hematology patients.
2023 Award Recipient: Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH | View Award Information
ASH Mentor Award
ASH values and appreciates the influence of a mentor and recognizes ASH members who have made a difference in the hematology community through mentoring. Each year, the ASH Mentor Award honors two outstanding mentors drawn from the areas basic science, clinical investigation, education, or clinical/community care. Both nominees and nominators for this award must be ASH members.
2023 Award Recipients: Stephen Sallan, MD and Helen Heslop, MD, DSc | View Award Information
E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize
This lectureship and prize, named after the late Nobel Prize Laureate and past president of ASH E. Donnall Thomas, MD, recognizes pioneering research achievements in hematology that have represented a paradigm shift or significant discovery in the field. Both nominees and nominators for this award must be ASH members.
2023 Award Recipient: Katy Rezvani, MD, PhD | View Award Information
Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize
The Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize, named for the late Ernest Beutler, MD, a past president of ASH and physician-scientist for more than 50 years, is a two-part lectureship that recognizes major translational advances related to a single topic. This award honors two individuals, one recognized for enabling advances in basic science, and the other recognized for using clinical science or translational research to carry the basic science advances through to tangible improvements in patient care. Nominees and nominators for this award do not need to be ASH members for a nominee to be considered.
2023 Award Recipients: Johnny Mahlangu, MBBCh, MMed, and Takehisa Kitazawa, DVM, PhD | View Award Information
Henry M. Stratton Medal
The Henry M. Stratton Medal is named after the late Henry Maurice Stratton, co-founder of Grune and Stratton, the medical publishing house that first published ASH's journal Blood. The prize honors two senior investigators whose contributions to hematology both basic and clinical/translational research are well recognized and have taken place over a period of several years. Both nominees and nominators for this award must be ASH members.
2023 Award Recipients: Rodger McEver, MD and James B. Bussel, MD | View Award Information
William Dameshek Prize
The William Dameshek Prize, named for the late William Dameshek, MD, a past president of ASH and the original editor of Blood, recognizes an early- or mid-career individual (50 years or younger) who has made recent outstanding contributions leading to a new fundamental understanding of hematology. These contributions can include basic, translational, and clinical research dealing with patients, health disparities, and outcomes research. Both nominees and nominators for this award must be ASH members.
Consideration is given to requests for an exception to the age-based eligibility requirement for a nominee who experienced a pause in their career that impacted their ability to meet the requirement.
2023 Award Recipient: Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD | View Award Information