On July 8, 2022, our managing editor for ASH Clinical News, Kristin Hubing, left this earth at a devastatingly young age for what we hope is a more joyous place. She left behind her husband Kyle and her infant son Theo, along with scores of family, friends, and her work family at ASH. Her death leaves a huge hole in all our hearts.
A managing editor is the person who makes a publication real. It’s easy to look at a glossy copy of ASH Clinical News and appreciate the relevant content, appealing graphics, seamless layout, uniform editorial tone, and easy readability and not realize that it took someone with extraordinary creativity, organization, and foresight to make all that come together. Kristin was that person from the day she joined the publication in January 2017.
However, she was so much more than a creative manager and organized leader. She loved her job, and her co-workers loved her. Kristin was our truth test, our moral compass, our indefatigable animating spirit. She shared our passions for grammar (even keeping a running list of “Editor-in-Chief Grammar quirks” as a style guide) and word play. She had a marvelous sense of humor while also managing to “keep it real” and hold editors, writers, and staff accountable.
Kristin Hubing pictured with ASH Clinical News Editors-in-Chief
(left to right) Drs. Mikkael Sekeres, David Steensma, and Aaron
Gerds and Associate Editor Dr. Joseph Mikhael.
It just so happens that this month’s feature article is about cannabis use among patients with hematologic conditions. While gathering our memories of Kristin, the first anecdote shared centered around our December 2017 article on the topic. One of us tried to sneak puns about marijuana into the story at every opportunity. Kristin quietly pulled that editor aside and, laughing, suggested that with these edits he might be “jumping the shark.” She was right. The excessive puns were removed, but as Kristin also had insight into the delicate intricacies of an editor’s ego, she allowed a few small puns (like Some Pot in Every Kitchen) to remain. We hope she would approve of the restraint and balance we tried to achieve in this issue’s feature article.
For every committee, meeting, or publication, ASH staff are the not-so-secret ingredient that pulls everything together. As the special sauce is to the Big Mac, Kristin was to ASH Clinical News. She had an unparalleled ability to strike a steady equilibrium that comes through in every issue of ASH Clinical News. She fostered the editorial board’s creativity but deftly steered the train back onto the tracks when discussions threatened to derail. She encouraged us to dig deeply and find the story, but always reminded us to keep our “ASH hats” on and ASH Clinical News readership in mind. Upon writing this tribute, one of us considered the idea of a simple blank page representing the loss that we all feel. However, Kristin’s voice echoed, “That is a really creative idea, but . . .”
While her absence leaves a blank page in our hearts, her voice and enduring presence will continue to push the pages of ASH Clinical News forward. We will miss her dearly.
Mikkael Sekeres, MD
Editor-in-Chief (2014-2019)
David Steensma, MD
Editor-in-Chief (2020)
Aaron Gerds, MD
Editor-in-Chief (2021-)