WALLACE H. COULTER AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN HEMATOLOGY

Wallace H. Coulter was a prolific inventor, innovator, and entrepreneur. His Coulter Principle pioneered the development of flow cytometry, defined particle characterization, and made possible automated hematology, thus revolutionizing laboratory medicine. The Coulter Counter led to major breakthroughs in science, medicine, and industry. This award, in his name, recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a lasting commitment to the field of hematology through outstanding contributions to education, research, and practice.

ASH will recognize Éliane Gluckman, MD, PhD, of the University of Paris, with the 2024 Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology. Dr. Gluckman, a renowned physician-scientist and thought leader, is being honored for a lifetime of achievement in cord blood transplantation. 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 and shortened the delay between donor identification and actual transplant. Since that revolutionary procedure in 1988, there have been more than 40,000 transplants, with cord blood registries established worldwide.  

As a young medical student, Dr. Gluckman was drawn to hematology, a relatively new discipline at the time, because of its potential for growth and innovation. Her first residency position was in the hematology ward at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Paris, where she affirmed her passion and interest in Fanconi anemia and sickle cell disease (SCD). From 1988, she led cord blood research as medical director of the bone marrow transplant service and head of the department of hematology at the Saint-Louis Hospital in Paris. Currently, she is head of the EuroCord research group on cell therapy for malignant and non-malignant diseases in children. 

Dr. Gluckman has continued to shape hematology. Her impact includes significant contributions to the understanding of hematologic disorders such as aplastic anemia, Fanconi anemia, and sickle cell disease through the design of new conditioning protocols that are used to prepare patients for stem cell transplantation. 

Dr. Gluckman is currently leading a project that examines immunogenetic factors that could predict the outcomes and probability of finding a donor for stem cell transplants in people living with sickle cell disease and other hereditary disorders. She has trained many investigators in the field and helped establish bone marrow transplant units in their respective countries. 

ASH MENTOR AWARDS

The ASH Mentor Award was established to recognize hematologists who have excelled in mentoring trainees and colleagues. Each year the Society recognizes two outstanding mentors  who have had a significant, positive impact on their mentees' careers and, through their mentees, have advanced research and patient care in the field of hematology.

ASH will recognize Stephen D. Nimer, MD, of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, with the 2024 ASH Mentor Award. Dr. Nimer, a physician-scientist specializing in myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, is being honored 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. His willingness to provide feedback, dedication to seizing growth opportunities, and catchy “Nimer-isms” have all helped propel mentees into thriving careers, with many receiving career development awards from foundations and federal agencies. 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. 

ASH will recognize Charles A. Schiffer, MD, of the Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine, with the 2024 ASH Mentor Award. For Dr. Schiffer, an expert in platelet transfusion therapy and the treatment of adult leukemias, mentoring the next generation of hematologists comes naturally. Dr. Schiffer leads by example and challenges trainees to remain curious, seize opportunities, and think creatively. His mentees have described him as a one-of-a-kind generational teacher and characterize him as a “mentor of mentors.” 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. 

ASH AWARD FOR LEADERSHIP IN PROMOTING DIVERSITY

The ASH Award for Leadership in Promoting Diversity honors hematologists who have supported the development of an inclusive hematology workforce, who have encouraged the career development of trainees from communities underrepresented in hematology, who have made the commitment to inclusiveness in contributions to the mission of ASH, or who have made accomplishments that aim to eliminate health disparities in the care of hematology patients

ASH will recognize James George, MD, of the University of Oklahoma, with the 2024 ASH Award for Leadership in Promoting Diversity. 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.  

Dr. George was also a strong supporter of the ASH Minority Medical Student Award Program (MMSAP), which provides research support for medical students underrepresented in medicine to encourage them to pursue hematology. To date, the MMSAP has supported more than 300 research opportunities for medical students. Additionally, Dr. George codeveloped 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.

OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD

The Society presents this award each year to an individual who has worked tirelessly to raise public awareness for hematologic diseases and shown leadership in areas relevant to the mission of the Society.

The 2024 recipient of the ASH Outstanding Service Award is Mary Hulihan. DrPH, Health Scientist in the Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center on Birth Defects & Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Hulihan has been participating in activities related to sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassemia surveillance since 2008. Currently, she is the project officer for several cooperative agreements connected to SCD, including the Sickle Cell Data Collection program which has grown tremendously under Dr. Hulihan’s leadership. The information generated from the CDC’s Sickle Cell Data Collection program has helped inform many aspects of ASH’s multifaceted sickle cell disease initiative and provided valuable information to the greater sickle cell community.

Throughout her career, Dr. Hulihan has graciously volunteered time to present at a variety of ASH meetings and is an ongoing volunteer with the Sickle Cell Disease Learning Community and a long-time co-chair of the ASH-managed Sickle Cell Disease Coalition Working Group on Access to Care. She is also an active member of the Department of Health and Human Services Interagency Working Group on Sickle Cell Disease and has been instrumental in driving much-needed collaboration across federal agencies with sickle cell programs.