The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has announced the recipients of the 2024 honorific awards, who will be recognized at the 66th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in December.
The honorific awards celebrate exemplary hematologists who have made significant contributions to the field. This year’s recipients include pioneering researchers, innovative clinicians, and selfless mentors who have advanced hematology through a variety of vital contributions. The 2024 award recipients are:
Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology
Éliane Gluckman, MD, PhD, University of Paris
Dr. Gluckman, a renowned physician-scientist and thought leader, is being recognized for a lifetime of achievement in cord blood transplantation. In 1988, she performed the world’s first human cord blood transplant, which established cord blood as an alternative stem cell source for patients in need of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and shortened the delay between donor identification and actual transplant. Since that revolutionary procedure, there have been more than 40,000 transplants, with cord blood registries established worldwide.
Dr. Gluckman has continued to shape the field of hematology throughout her career. She is currently leading a project that examines immunogenetic factors that could predict the outcomes and probability of finding a donor for HCTs in people living with sickle cell disease (SCD) and other hereditary disorders.
Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize
Stuart Orkin, MD, Harvard Stem Cell Institute
John Tisdale, MD, National Institutes of Health
Two physician-scientists, Drs. Orkin and Tisdale, are recognized for their work in advancing the treatment of hemoglobin disorders. Dr. Orkin is being celebrated for his work on the switch from fetal to adult hemoglobin expression. He provided the first comprehensive description of the mutations responsible for beta thalassemia and identified the BCL11A gene and its mechanism of action as a potential target to turn fetal hemoglobin back on in the adult to treat SCD and beta thalassemia. This work set the stage for clinical trials using gene editing.
Dr. Tisdale is being honored for his leadership in HCT, which led to cell-based gene therapy and gene editing trials for SCD and beta thalassemia. His work built on decades of research in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and HCT strategies to identify collection strategies for hematopoietic stem cells, optimal conditioning regimens, and strategies for achieving safe and efficient gene transfer.
Together, Drs. Orkin and Tisdale’s findings provided the foundation needed to develop the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cell-based gene therapies for beta thalassemia and SCD.
ASH Award for Leadership in Promoting Diversity
James George, MD, University of Oklahoma
Dr. George is being honored for his exemplary leadership in building a stronger, more diverse hematology workforce. Under his leadership as ASH president in 2005, the Society collaborated with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP) to create ASH-funded AMFDP positions in hematology. Since the program’s inception, ASH has supported nearly 30 recipients, many of whom have risen to the ranks of senior faculty in their institutions.
Additionally, Dr. George co-developed and -directed the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI), an inclusive yearlong program that offers broad education for clinicians on clinical research methods. Dr. George has continued to mentor the next generation of hematologists, including mentees from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine, international students, women, and individuals of lower socioeconomic status.
William Dameshek Prize
Ami Bhatt, MD, PhD, Stanford Medicine
Dr. Bhatt is being recognized for pioneering the development and application of genomic approaches to studying the microbiome. She has applied microbiomics in the clinical setting to study the impact of gut decontamination on transplant outcomes and has co-led efforts to study the microbiome in the context of evolving prophylaxis strategies for graft-versus-host disease. Dr. Bhatt successfully linked bloodstream infections and outcomes in transplant patients to characteristics within the gut microbiome and uncovered a link between prolonged gastrointestinal SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding and gastrointestinal symptoms, among other major findings.
Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize
Sean J. Morrison, PhD, Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern
Dr. Morrison, a scientist and renowned researcher, is being honored for his work in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) biology. His laboratory has performed paradigm-shifting research that has evolved how hematologists and others understand the regulation of HSC function. In particular, his research has identified new mechanisms that regulate blood cell production and bone marrow regeneration after chemotherapy or HCT, which can be used in the development of cancer therapies. In addition to his scientific work, Dr. Morrison has mentored many trainees who have gone on to become leaders in hematopoiesis research.
Henry M. Stratton Medal
Douglas Cines, MD, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Katherine High, MD, The Rockefeller University
Dr. Cines, the recipient of the Henry M. Stratton Medal for basic science, is being honored for more than 40 years of research discoveries that have led to significant increases in the understanding and treatment of thrombocytopenic disorders. Dr. Cines’ main research interest is immunothrombosis. He was instrumental in identifying the role of endothelial cells as targets of immune injury in lupus, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, and antiphospholipid syndrome, thereby providing a rationale for the connection of these disorders to thrombosis.
Dr. High, the recipient of the Henry M. Stratton Medal for translational/clinical science, is being recognized for spearheading the development of a gene therapy for hemophilia B, approved earlier this year by the FDA and Health Canada. This success comes after more than two decades of challenging research, during which she directly contributed to the understanding of DNA defects in hemophilia B, factor VII, and factor X, as well as performed several first-of-their-kind clinical trials in gene therapy, including the first intramuscular and intravascular administrations of an adeno-associated viral vector.
ASH Mentor Award
Stephen D. Nimer, MD, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Charles A. Schiffer, MD, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine
Dr. Nimer, a physician-scientist specializing in myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, is being recognized for his impact on more than 100 hematology trainees with his tailored, encouraging, and community-focused mentorship. Dr. Nimer serves as a role model for trainees and instills in them the importance of thinking critically and embracing challenges. A hallmark of his mentorship is the sense of community he creates, demonstrated by more than 20 years of annual Nimer lab breakfasts at the ASH annual meeting, during which, even long after leaving his lab, mentees share their progress and seek Dr. Nimer’s advice.
Dr. Schiffer, an expert in platelet transfusion therapy and the treatment of adult leukemias, leads mentees by example and challenges trainees to remain curious, seize opportunities, and think creatively. Dr. Schiffer is widely known for his open-door approach and fine-tuned ability to provide clinical care with rigor, bright humor, and compassion. He has trained large numbers of successful clinical investigators whose contributions have substantially influenced leukemia and cancer research and improved patient outcomes.
These recognition awards will be presented during the 66th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, December 7-10, in San Diego.
Learn more about the ASH honorific awards at hematology.org/awards/honorific.