2010-11-01

WALLACE H. COULTER AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN HEMATOLOGY

Volker Diehl, MD

The Wallace H. Coulter Award, the Society’s highest honor, recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a lasting commitment to the field of hematology through outstanding contributions and has made a significant impact on education, research, and/or practice. This prize is named for Wallace H. Coulter, inventor of the Coulter Principle. This year’s Coulter Award goes to Volker Diehl, MD, of the University of Cologne in Cologne, Germany, for his pioneering research on Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) over the past 40 years. Dr. Diehl has devoted his career to the understanding and treatment of HL, and his accomplishments are a great example of excellence in translational and clinical research. In addition to discovering the causative role of the Epstein-Barr virus in infectious mononucleosis and studying its association with HL, Dr. Diehl cultured the first notoriously fragile Hodgkin cell lines, which led to the development of BEACOPP, a chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of HL. Dr. Diehl will receive his award on Sunday, December 5, at 1:30 p.m.

ERNEST BEUTLER LECTURE AND PRIZE

Barry S. Coller, MD

Joel S. Bennett, MD

The Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize, named for the late Dr. Ernest Beutler, past ASH president and physician-scientist for more than 50 years, is a two-part lectureship intended to recognize major translational advances related to a single topic. This year’s recipients of the Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize are Barry S. Coller, MD, of The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and Joel S. Bennett, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. Drs. Coller and Bennett have been involved in the study of platelet aggregation, the discovery of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (now known as integrin αIIbβ3, and the development of αIIbβ3 antagonists, the first rationally designed antiplatelet agents to prevent and treat ischemic cardiovascular disease. Dr. Coller will discuss the development of αIIbβ3 antagonists, and Dr. Bennett will discuss the discovery of the platelet fibrinogen receptor and subsequent elucidation of its structure and function. Plan to attend Drs. Coller and Bennett’s lecture, “From the Mechanism of Platelet Aggregation to the First Rationally Designed Antiplatelet Agent,” on Monday, December 6, at 1:30 p.m.

E. DONNALL THOMAS LECTURE AND PRIZE

Leonard I. Zon, MD

Named after the Nobel Prize laureate and past ASH president, the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize serves to recognize pioneering research achievements in hematology. The 2010 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture will be given by Leonard I. Zon, MD, of Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Dr. Zon is receiving this prize for his pioneering research into the development and regulation of hematopoietic stem cells. Utilizing zebrafish as a model system, Dr. Zon found that certain signaling pathways are critical for blood stem cell formation and that these pathways are also used for stem cell self-renewal in adults. From his work, a prostaglandin derivative shown to increase blood stem cells in zebrafish embryos is now in clinical trial for cord blood transplantation for leukemia and lymphoma. Hear Dr. Zon’s lecture, “Blood Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Differentiation – Lessons From Embryonic Development,” on Monday, December 6, at 9:00 a.m.

HENRY M. STRATON MEDAL

Sanford Shattil, MD

This award honors an individual whose contributions to the field of hematology are well recognized and have taken place over several years. The 2010 Henry M. Stratton Medal goes to Sanford Shattil, MD, of the University of California – San Diego, San Diego, CA, for his achievements in the area of platelet cell biology and signal transduction. Dr. Shattil’s work has led the way in defining the roles of numerous kinases, scaffold proteins, small G-proteins, and exchange factors in outside-in integrin signaling platelets. He was the first to introduce live cell imaging and pioneered the technique of deriving megakaryocytes from mouse bone marrow or human stem cells to use a molecularly tractable model of platelet signaling. Dr. Shattil has served as ASH Treasurer and Editor-in-Chief of Blood. He continues to conduct workshops aimed at young investigators to teach them how to prepare and submit manuscripts. Dr. Shattil will receive his award on Tuesday, December 7, at 9:30 a.m.

WILLIAM DAMESHEK PRIZE

David T. Scadden, MD

Named for the late Dr. William Dameshek, a past president of ASH who made major contributions to the Society and was the first editor of Blood, this year’s prize is awarded to David T. Scadden, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in Boston, MA, for his contributions to stem cell biology. His work has altered thinking in the field and given direction for interventions to improve transplantation. Dr. Scadden has increased the fundamental understanding of the stem cell niche and how cells engage it. His laboratory was the first to show that modifying CXCR4 can lead to stem cell mobilization and more recently defined two new molecular regulators of stem cell homing and engraftment. These achievements, combined with real-time imaging of individual stem cells engrafting in their niche, provide new opportunities for manipulating the processes critical for stem cell transplantation. Dr. Scadden will receive his award on Tuesday, December 7, at 9:30 a.m.

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