The American Society of Hematology Announces New Honor...( WASHINGTON July 16 -- The Amer...),Health

WASHINGTON, July 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announces the debut of the Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize, to be awarded at ASH's annual meeting in December. The inaugural recipients are Thomas Maniatis, PhD, of Harvard University, and Yuet Wai Kan, MD, of the University of California - San Francisco.

Established in December 2008, this award, named for the late Dr. Ernest Beutler, past president of ASH and physician-scientist for over 50 years, is a two-part lectureship intended to recognize major translational advances related to a single topic. This award honors two individuals, one who has enabled advances in basic science and another individual for achievements in clinical science or translational research. Both of this year's recipients have made seminal contributions to our understanding of the biology and diagnosis of thalassemia, with specific attention paid to the impact of molecular genetic studies of globin genes on the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

Dr. Kan, past ASH President and prior recipient of the Dameshek Prize and Stratton Medal for his pioneering work involving the use of fetal DNA to diagnose sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, will discuss the development of prenatal and DNA diagnosis for thalassemia, reviewing current and experimental treatments, and the impact of stem cell technology on future therapy.

Dr. Maniatis, of Harvard University, will discuss the development of prenatal and DNA diagnosis for thalassemia, reviewing current and experimental treatments and the impact of stem cell technology on future therapy.

The Ernest Beutler Lecture will take place on Monday, December 7(th) from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in New Orleans, LA. For more information, please visit the 51st ASH Annual Meeting Web site.