First Winner of Minority Scholar Award to Begin Clinical Research

(WASHINGTON, July 9, 2007) – Christopher Flowers, MD, the first winner of the ASH-AMFDP, an award designed to help increase the number of underrepresented minority scholars in the field of hematology, begins his research award this month (in July). The award, the result of a partnership between the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (AMFDP) of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provides four years of support, including an annual stipend of up to $75,000 and an annual grant of more than $29,000 for research activities.

“This is a great honor. The ASH-AMFDP Award provides the protected time and resources to extend my research on developing curative treatment strategies for patients with lymphoma. I am thrilled to have received this award,” said Dr. Flowers. “It will serve as a cornerstone for the continued development of my career as a clinician scientist.”

His current research projects span three areas: translational research in indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma; developing an information infrastructure to support lymphoma outcomes research; and medical decision modeling aimed at developing strategies to individualize cancer care for patients.

Dr. Flowers is the Director of the Lymphoma Program at Emory and a member of the Emory Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplant Team. In addition, he serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

“We are exceptionally proud of Dr. Flowers,” said Brian Leyland-Jones, MD, PhD, Director of the Emory Winship Cancer Institute. “Dr. Flowers’ work is breaking new ground in utilizing bioinformatics in basic science research. Our ability to provide truly individualized care to cancer patients will be built upon much of the work that Dr. Flowers is currently doing.”

For more information, please see the ASH-AMFDP page on the ASH Web site.

The American Society of Hematology is the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.

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