James LaBelle, MD, PhD, serves as chair of the ASH Foundation Committee. He is an associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Stem Cell and Cellular Therapy Program at the University of Chicago Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.
1. If you were to compile a bucket list, what would top that list?
Build a log cabin or tour as many Northern Renaissance art museums as I can.
2. What ASH luminary do you most admire? (Who’s your ASH-lebrity?)
I have two: Drs. David Nathan and Sam Lux. Both are unbelievable mentors who have uncanny abilities to find what people are innately good at doing, inspire them to do that, support them to succeed, and, all the while, share great first-hand stories about hematologic discoveries or the history of the red blood cell.
3. What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
When I was feeling down in graduate school, Dr. Rimas Orentas, a mentor of mine, approached my desk and silently pulled out two pieces of paper. On the first he drew the Nike “swoosh” and on the second he wrote, “Just do it!” He then left the lab for the evening without saying a word. It was what I needed to “hear” at the time, and it was expertly delivered.
4. When I’m down, _____ brings me up.
Being in Door County, Wisconsin, with my family. Also, listening to the Beastie Boys. It’s hard to be bummed when their music is playing.
5. What’s your one can’t-miss presentation or event at the ASH annual meeting?
The lifetime achievement awards. Always inspiring and a reminder that things take time.
6. What’s your hidden talent?
Not sure I have one, but I took up hockey three years ago, after never owning skates beforehand. It’s humbling and oddly rewarding to take on new things as an adult.
7. If you could wave a wand and change one thing about the practice of medicine, what would that be?
To bring amazement back into the practice and teaching of medicine.
8. What do you see as the next big advance in hematology?
Gene therapy for monogenic disorders. Brand new patient populations are being defined.
9. When starting my career, I wish I had known …
Taking time to think things through and explore different theoretical possibilities almost always pays dividends in the end. I wish I was more accepting of proverbial cerebral “tea time” rather than thinking everything was on fire all the time.
10. What’s your favorite movie?
It’s a tie. Lawrence of Arabia and Interstellar. Different movies in many ways, but both are about transformative human conditions.
