Yuet Wai Kan, MD
Dr. Yuet Wai Kan pioneered the use of DNA to diagnose human diseases. He was the first to use fetal DNA to diagnose sickle cell anemia and thalassemia. He discovered DNA polymorphism, which is now extensively used for genetic analysis. Dr. Kan received the Dameshek Prize in 1979 and the Stratton Medal in 1980 for his research and served as ASH president in 1990. Currently, Dr. Kan is the Louis K. Diamond Professor of Hematology at the University of California, San Francisco, and focuses his research on the use of gene and cell therapy to treat sickle cell anemia and thalassemia.

David G. Nathan, MD
Dr. David Nathan has made numerous contributions to academic medicine, including the development with Dr. Yuet Wai Kan and others of the first prenatal diagnostic test for thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Throughout his career, he has been a pioneer in pediatric hematology. His numerous honors include the Stratton Medal, which Dr. Nathan received in 1995. Dr. Nathan graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1955 and eventually served as Physician-In-Chief at Children’s Hospital Boston for 10 years before becoming president of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he is currently President Emeritus. He is also the Robert A. Stranahan Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Helen Ranney, MD
Dr. Helen Ranney’s life is full of “firsts:” she was the first female president of ASH in 1974, the first female president of the Association of American Physicians, and the first female to chair a department of medicine in the United States. In the 1950s, she was also one of the first to identify a genetic cause of sickle cell disease. Among other honors, her continuing research in hemoglobinopathies earned her the Stratton Medal in 1999. She is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of California, San Diego.

Robert F. Schilling, MD
Dr. Robert Schilling is widely known for his research on vitamin B-12. His work on urine radioactivity testing for vitamin B-12 absorption ultimately led to the “Schilling Test,” which helps determine if a patient has pernicious anemia or one of several other causes of malabsorption of vitamin B-12. Dr. Schilling received his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison hospitals. Most of his professional career was at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is currently a Professor Emeritus.