Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH, Begins Term as 2018 ASH President

(WASHINGTON, January 4, 2018) – Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH, a world-renowned expert in sickle cell disease and thalassemia, will serve as president of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for a year-long term through December 2018.

Dr. Thompson is the head of the hematology section of the Division of Hematology Oncology Transplantation and director of the Comprehensive Thalassemia Program at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, where she also serves as the A. Watson and Sarah Armour Endowed Chair for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders. She is also an associate director of Equity and Minority Health at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University in Chicago.

“We are experiencing unprecedented expansion in scientific knowledge, particularly in hematology, and ASH will continue to provide a platform for this new information through its journals and conferences,” said Dr. Thompson. “As ASH president, I support ASH efforts to accelerate scientific discoveries that will lead to more effective treatments and improved patient outcomes. I also look forward to growing the Society’s international stature as a global leader in hematology, bringing investigators together and contributing to capacity-building efforts.”

During her more than 20 years of involvement in ASH, Dr. Thompson has served in a variety of Society volunteer roles, including a four-year term as an ASH councillor from 2010-2014, a co-chair of the ASH Annual Meeting Education Program, and a mentor for the Society’s Minority Medical Student Award Program for more than 10 years. Dr. Thompson is currently a member of the ASH Sickle Cell Task Force and a reviewer for ASH’s journal, Blood.

As the Society’s new president, Dr. Thompson is interested in enhancing the trainee pipeline in hematology, particularly in non-malignant hematology. She also seeks to focus on ASH’s global strategy to promote the best science and patient care throughout the world, and to foster international collaborations in hematology, including expansion into regions with unmet scientific and medical needs such as Latin America and Africa.

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. ASH publishes Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online. In 2016, ASH launched Blood Advances (www.bloodadvances.org), an online, peer-reviewed open-access journal.

CONTACT:
Sara Khalaf, American Society of Hematology
skhalaf@hematology.org; 202-552-4925