Wallace H. Coulter 1913-1998

First awarded in 2007, the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, the Society's highest honor, 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.

Mr. Coulter was a prolific inventor and entrepreneur best known for developing the Coulter Principle — a technology used to count and size cells or particles as they flow through an aperture. The Coulter Principle led to major breakthroughs in science, medicine, and industry. Its first application, the Coulter Counter, provided the first high-throughput, standardized method to count different types of blood cells, revolutionizing the medical community's ability to screen for diseases through a simple blood test. The use of the Coulter Principle also modernized industry by establishing the reference method for quality control and standardization of particles used in paint, ceramics, toners, chocolate, beer, and even the purity of rocket fuel.

Coulter Corporation was a pioneer in the development of monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry, the technology to assay them. These technologies are used in the characterization and treatment of cancer, leukemia, and infectious diseases. The B-1 antibody (anti-CD20), marketed as Bexxar, developed under Mr. Coulter’s guidance is proving to be a revolutionary treatment for non-Hodgkin small-cell lymphoma. This therapy provides hundreds of patients with hope and an improved quality of life, true to the company's mission of “Science Serving Humanity.”

Wallace Coulter was the only recipient of the ASH Distinguished Service Award for his enormous contributions to the practice of hematology.

Recipients

2012: James N. George, MD
	ASH News Daily article Award video Award press release
2011: David G. Nathan, MD
	"Wallace Coulter had a genius about him and the Coulter Principle transformed diagnostic hematology. Far from those glass slides, suddenly we had real descriptions of cells, in numbers, and that’s all Wallace Coulter.To me the Wallace Coulter award really puts me in a sort of company that I’m very, very proud of. And of course I have to thank those trainees of mine. This is really their award in many, many ways, so I have a lot of gratitude right now." ASH News Daily article Award video
2010: Volker Diehl, MD
	"Wallace Coulter…was also a bridge person between medical science and technology. The admiration I have for him is because of his ingenuity and humbleness, his great mind, and never-ending curiosity that helped him to open new avenues in science. This curiosity and daring spirit to discover new frontiers of medical science I wish [for] our young hematology colleagues who live in the most exciting period of advances in medical development of all time but so often are afraid to step on the ‘bridge over troubled water’ between basic science and clinical medicine." ASH News Daily article Award video
2009: H. Franklin Bunn, MD
	"The Coulter Award is a source of great gratification to me for the time I’ve spent in a discipline that’s been extremely exciting and fulfilling. I feel that the donor of this award deserves my thanks not only because of the receipt of the award, but also because of what they’ve contributed to hematology." ASH News Daily article Award video
2008: Robert Kyle, MD
	"I am greatly honored and surprised to receive it. It is a great honor for not only me and my colleagues at the Mayo Clinic, but also the study of multiple myeloma. I hope the award brings more attention to the field of myeloma.” ASH News Daily article Video of his acceptance speech
2007: Ernest Beutler, MD
	"Coulter realized the great American dream. He built an industry that changed the way we practice hematology. Now his achievements support our work not only scientifically but also through generous philanthropy. It is therefore a very great privilege for me to accept an award bearing the Wallace Coulter name." Article in The Hematologist Video of his acceptance speech

Coulter Medal

Marc Mellon, one of America's foremost representational sculptors, created the Coulter Medal. His portrait busts, commemorative statues, and other works in bronze exploring the worlds of dance, sport, and family life are displayed in numerous corporate, private, and public collections worldwide.

Many individuals have been recognized and honored with Mellon bronze portrait busts, including Pope John Paul II and George H.W. Bush. More recently, Mr. Mellon's portrait of President Barack Obama was selected by the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee to appear on the front of the 2009 Official Presidential Inaugural Medal.

Coulter Foundation

The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation is dedicated to improving health care through medical research and engineering. Through its partnership with ASH, the Foundation has supported numerous programs that further this mission, with an emphasis on funding programs in areas of the world with limited resources. To learn more about the Foundation, visit http://www.whcf.org/.

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