2012-11-28
(WASHINGTON)-The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will honor Beverly S. Mitchell, MD, and Rainer F. Storb, MD, with Mentor Awards to recognize their sustained, outstanding commitment to the training and career development of junior hematologists. Drs. Mitchell and Storb will receive their awards during the 54th ASH Annual Meeting in Atlanta.
The ASH Mentor Award was established in 2006 to recognize hematologists who have excelled in mentoring trainees and colleagues. Each year the Society recognizes two mentors, one in the basic sciences and one in clinical investigation and training, 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. Award winners are selected from a pool of nominations submitted by ASH members whose careers have been shaped by their mentorship.
Dr. Mitchell, the 2012 ASH Mentor Award winner for Clinical Investigation, is the director of the Stanford Cancer Institute and the George E. Becker Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. Throughout her more than 35-year career, Dr. Mitchell, who served as 2001 ASH President, has become well known for bringing a rare blend of scientific excellence and humanism to her work. She has inspired many of her trainees to pursue career paths similar to her own, focusing on disease biology-based approaches to managing hematologic malignancies. Dr. Mitchell has also worked tirelessly to ensure that her mentees have protected time for research, making personal sacrifices when necessary to provide this critical resource to her trainees. Her sacrifices have paid off, as many of her trainees have gone on to secure program project grants from the National Cancer Institute and other federal agencies to conduct research that is revealing important insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of hematologic malignancies.
Dr. Mitchell is also well-known throughout the ASH community for her leadership role in developing one of ASH’s most important career-development programs, the ASH Clinical Research Training Institute, now in its 10th year.
Dr. Storb, the 2012 ASH Mentor Award winner for Basic Science, is Head and Member of the Transplantation Biology Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 1965 he began work in the Division of Hematology at the University of Washington under the mentorship of the late E. Donnall Thomas, MD, and participated in the foundation of the Hutchinson Center in 1975. Since then, Dr. Storb has mentored more than 150 trainees, including 10 current Hutchinson Center faculty members. Among his many leadership and mentorship qualities, Dr. Storb is perhaps best known for uniquely challenging his mentees to foster their intellectual growth, continually underscoring the importance of rigorous basic science training to ensure their future clinical research success. Described by his mentees as thorough and constructive, Dr. Storb places significant emphasis on having trainees focus on the overall landscape of published literature in the field to inform their manuscripts. An articulate and effective speaker, Dr. Storb has passed his knowledge down to his trainees, encouraging them to present their work in a broad range of venues ranging from lab gatherings to international meetings. He has also supported mentees’ efforts to submit applications for independent research funding. Dr. Storb’s legacy in the field is evidenced by his distinguished group of trainees who now lead institutes and transplantation centers around the world.
Dr. Storb has been honored in the past with two additional ASH honorific awards, including the 1997 Henry M. Stratton Medal and the 2005 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize.
“The American Society of Hematology is pleased to honor Drs. Mitchell and Storb for their passion for and dedication to mentorship that has inspired and shaped generations of outstanding physicians and scientists in the field of hematology,” said ASH President Armand Keating, MD, of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network in Toronto. “The Society thanks Drs. Mitchell and Storb for their service that has not only been critical to the personal career successes of their mentees, but has also been essential to advancing research breakthroughs and the development of therapies that have helped improve the care of patients with blood disorders.”
Drs. Mitchell and Storb will receive their awards at the Announcement of Awards session at 1:15 p.m. EST on Sunday, December 9, in Hall B5 (Level 1, Building B) at the Georgia World Congress Center.
To arrange an interview with a Mentor Award recipient, please contact Andrea Slesinski, ASH Communications Manager, at 202-552-4927 or aslesinski@hematology.org.
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) (www.hematology.org) is the world’s largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. The official journal of ASH is Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online
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