Greetings From the President

It is my distinct honor to serve as President in this celebratory year in the Society's history, and it is my privilege to host this momentous 50th ASH Annual Meeting in San Francisco, which was also home to our 25th anniversary meeting.

Throughout the convention center you will find historical displays, banners, and posters that will take you through the major turning points in hematology and showcase some of the specialty's most extraordinary visionaries and leaders. Some of these illustrious individuals will also share their life stories and talk about their remarkable achievements during the Pioneers in Hematology sessions on Sunday afternoon.

In the past half century, the annual meeting has grown by leaps and bounds from a scientific session consisting of 33 invited papers in 1958 to more than 500 oral presentations and nearly 2,500 poster presentations of scientific abstracts today. Developing a program entailing this enormous volume of research was a task that could not have been accomplished without the guidance of this year's Scientific Program Co-Chairs, J. Evan Sadler, MD, PhD, and Leonard I. Zon, MD.

Another essential component of the annual meeting, the Education Program, was first added in 1969 at the urging of past Presidents Louis Wasserman, MD, and Thomas Hale Ham, MD. Thanks to the creativity and initiative of Co-Chairs Linda J. Burns, MD, and Elaine A. Muchmore, MD, this year's Education Program, is truly exemplary and will feature 20 sessions by some of the world's foremost authorities on all aspects of hematology.

Over the years, fostering new talent in the specialty has also been an important goal. Returning for its second year, Trainee Day will provide both didactic and interactive workshops on various research and career-development topics for those early in their academic careers. Many other sessions and activities, planned to help trainees make the most of their annual meeting experience, are detailed on the Trainee Activities and Services page.

Among other meeting highlights will be this year's Ham-Wasserman Lecture on acute myeloid leukemia and the E. Donnall Thomas Lecture on the pathophysiology of bone marrow failure, both underscoring areas of medicine that have evolved tremendously over the last 50 years and have not only increased our knowledge of a specific disease, but have also enhanced our ability to diagnose and treat other diseases as well. At the ASH/EHA Plenary Forum, esteemed Nobel Prize laureate Peter Agre, MD, will explore how his research and the research of others that originated in hematology grew to have profound and catalytic influences on numerous areas of science as well as hematology.

I have been coming to the ASH annual meeting for more than 25 years and have seen many profound changes, but one thing that never changes is the dedication of ASH members to fostering clinical and scientific excellence in hematology. I look forward to seeing you in San Francisco and celebrating our collective accomplishments as we pass this important milestone and, together, move toward another remarkable 50 years.

Cheers,