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Remembering Amoz Chernoff (1923-2023)

June 1, 2023

June 2023

Amoz Chernoff, MD, passed away on March 25, 2023, at 100 years old. Dr. Chernoff was an influential leader in transfusion medicine and was well known for his work regarding transfusion-​transmission of HIV.

Dr. Chernoff’s career included many notable research discoveries and developments in hematology. Early on, he helped develop a fetal hemoglobin screening test to evaluate the nature of hemoglobin associated with hereditary hemolytic syndromes and acquired hematologic diseases. He is also credited with discovering hemoglobin E while studying thalassemia in Thailand in 1954 and providing the first detailed clinical description of hemoglobin E thalassemia.

He worked with the National Institutes of Health as director of the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute from 1979 to 1988. Dr. Chernoff’s research efforts were focused primarily on improving sickle cell disease and thalassemia outcomes and improving the safety of the blood supply and transfusions in relation to HIV.

Other significant roles in Dr. Chernoff’s career included director of medical research at the University of Tennessee Memorial Research Center, medical director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and scientific advisor of the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies.

He spent his free time solving crossword puzzles and sudoku and even took up gardening, growing more than 90 varieties of dahlia flowers. Dr. Chernoff cherished his family and friends and is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Sources: AABB, March 29, 2023, The Washington Post, March 28, 2023.

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