Former Dana-Farber president receives lifetime achievement award

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) presented the 2011 Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, the Society’s highest honor, to David G. Nathan, MD, president emeritus of Dana-Farber, at their annual meeting in San Diego during the 53rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego yesterday.

Dr. Nathan was recognized for his remarkable career combining outstanding teaching, pioneering research, and excellence in clinical care. Beyond Dr. Nathan’s lasting influence on his trainees and patients, his research on the inherited disorders of red cells and granulocytes, particularly thalassemia, has had a profound impact on the field of hematology.

The Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology is the Society’s highest honor and is named for Wallace Henry Coulter, a prolific inventor and entrepreneur who made important contributions to hematology and to ASH. This award is bestowed on an individual who has demonstrated a lasting commitment to the field of hematology through outstanding contributions to education, research, and practice. Known for his development of the Coulter Principle, the most widely used method for counting and sizing microscopic particles suspended in a fluid, Mr. Coulter’s important innovations in diagnostic and investigative medicine and his impact on the discipline of hematology are remembered with the presentation of this award each year.