ASH Mentor Award

The winners of the 2007 ASH Mentor Award are Harold Roberts, MD, of the University of North Carolina and Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. View the press release announcing the 2007 winners.

Purpose
Mentorship is one of the most important determinants of a successful career in hematology, yet it is often a component of career development that, while prized by recipients, is rarely rewarded. In recognition of the value the Society places on mentorship, the ASH Mentor Award was created to reward outstanding mentors in the hematology community. Superb mentors from any of the different branches of hematology are eligible for this award, including adult or pediatric hematologists; academic or community practitioners; basic, clinical, or translational researchers; hematopathologists; transfusion medicine specialists; and individuals working in industry or government. It is anticipated that awardees will have had a sustained career commitment to mentoring, a significant positive impact on their mentees' careers, and through their mentees have advanced research and patient care in the field of hematology.

Number of Awards
Each year one award in the amount of $5,000 and a plaque will be granted to an outstanding mentor in the basic sciences and one to an outstanding clinical investigator mentor. (The ASH Mentor Award Study Section reserves the right to not grant awards if no suitable nominations have been submitted.)

Award Criteria
This award is based on the training experiences and success of the nominee’s mentees, not the mentor’s personal career achievements. For the purpose of this award, mentoring is defined as the process of guiding, supporting, and promoting the training and career development of others. The key roles of a mentor include, but are not limited to providing:

• Intellectual growth and development
• Career development
• Professional guidance
• Advocacy
• Positive role modeling

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

1. All nominees and nominators must be members of ASH.
   
   
2. Nominees of all nationalities and all countries of residence are eligible; however, all application materials must be submitted in English.
   
   
3. Nominees may include adult or pediatric hematologists; academic or community practitioners; basic, clinical, or translational researchers; hematopathologists; transfusion medicine specialists; and individuals working in industry or government.
   
   
4. Nominees should have a sustained record of mentoring over time.
   
   
5. Nominators must be a mentee of the nominee, or colleagues who have personal knowledge of the nominee’s mentoring efforts.
   
   
6. Mentees should be actively involved in research, teaching, mentoring, or other leadership activities.
   
   
7. The nominator, primary, and secondary mentee must be three individuals.

Exclusion

1. Prior recipients of the ASH Mentor Award are ineligible for future awards.
   
   
2. Current members of the ASH Executive Committee, the ASH Awards Committee, or the ASH Mentor Award Study Section are ineligible.
   
   
3. Self-nominations and posthumous nominations will not be accepted.
   
   
4. Recipients of the William Dameshek Prize, Henry M. Stratton Medal, and E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize are ineligible for the year they receive the award.
   

Submitting Nomination Packages
Nomination packages must be submitted by May 5, 2008, to ASH Training Manager at:
ASH Mentor Award
1900 M Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036

Nomination packages must include the following information:

1. The completed nomination form.
   
   
2. The nominee's curriculum vitae.
   
   
3. Three letters of recommendation.
   
   
   • A letter written by the nominator that summarizes the nominee's impact on the training/careers of his/her mentees.
     
     
   • Two letters written by the primary and secondary mentee (can be a former or current mentee) who can each provide a first-hand account of how the nominee influenced his or her career. Academic, clinical, and educational, achievements on the part of the mentee will all be considered important. These mentees must be willing to complete a structured telephone interview about the nominee's mentoring capacity.
     
     Optional:
     Up to three additional letters of support from junior and senior faculty will be accepted, but are not required.
     
     Ideally, at least one letter should be written by a mentee who can provide a first-hand account of how the nominee influenced his or her career. Academic, clinical, educational, and regulatory achievements on the part of the mentee will all be considered as important.

It is suggested that the nominees participate in the process of assembling the nomination package, since their mentoring achievements may have spanned many years, beyond the experience of individual mentees.

Nomination and Selection Process
Nominations may be made by any member of ASH, based on either having been mentored by the nominee, or by personal observation of mentoring provided to others by the nominee. Nominators may be mentees of the nominee or colleagues who have personal knowledge of the nominee's mentoring efforts.

The ASH Mentor Award Study Section, which reviews nomination packages, includes, but is not limited to, four members from the ASH Trainee Council, one member from the ASH Educational Affairs Committee, one member from the ASH Awards Committee, one member from the ASH Committee on Practice, and one member from the ASH Committee on Training Programs.

Nomination packages are be due by May 5, 2008, and will be forwarded to the Mentor Award Study Section for review by May 12, 2008. The selection process has a quantitative and a qualitative phase. During the initial quantitative phase, nomination packages are reviewed and scored by the members of the Study Section on a mentoring score card. Several members of the Study Section review each nomination package.

Nominations are scored based on the Award Criteria and the overall strength of the nomination package. The scoring of the nominees by the Study Section will be completed by June 9, 2008. The Study Section meets in June to review scores and decide on four to six finalists (broken out evenly in each of the two categories) to continue on to the qualitative component of the selection process.

During the qualitative phase of the selection process, the nominator and the two mentees are contacted for each finalist for a focused telephone interview. Interviews are conducted by a professional interviewer and are based on the "semi-structured interview" technique of qualitative research. The interviews explore the mentoring strengths and track-record of the nominee. Focused interview transcripts are prepared and forwarded to members of the Study Section by August 2008. Final selections will be based on a consensus of the entire Study Section during a conference call that takes place in mid-August. The Study Section will encourage nominators of highly ranked, but unsuccessful, nominees to resubmit their application in subsequent years. Final selections are sent to the ASH Awards Committee and the ASH Executive Committee for final approval by the end of August. Awardees are notified by September 15.

Assessing the Selection Process
The selection criteria and evaluation tools were conceived in an effort to allow the Study Section a way to reach consensus, in a well-informed manner, about individuals who have consistently exemplified outstanding mentorship skills. Many of these skills are not easily assessed by academic rank or curriculum vitae. It is expected that awardees have outstanding academic records, but the aim of this selection process is to specifically address mentoring skills. To determine the utility and validity of the selection process, some nominees, nominators, referees, and awards committee members are asked to evaluate the nomination, selection, and award processes. These surveys are sent out and collated by ASH staff. Results are then reported back to the ASH Mentor Award Study Section and the appropriate procedures are modified accordingly.

2008 Selection Process Timeline

Questions about the ASH Mentor Award may be directed to training@hematology.org.