2007 Award Winners
Memorial Awards and Lectureships
2007 Chapman-Franzmeier Memorial Award and Lectureship
2007 Dale A. Smith Memorial Award
2007 David B. Pall Prize for Innovative Research in Transfusion Medicine
2007 Emily Cooley Memorial Award and Lectureship
2007 Hemphill-Jordan Leadership Award
2007 John Elliott Memorial Award
2007 Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award and Lectureship
2007 Tibor Greenwalt Scientific Memorial Award and Lectureship
2007 International Woman in Transfusion Award
2007 President’s Award
2007 Outstanding Achievement Award – Organization
2007 Awards of Merit
Award of Merit – Business
Award of Merit – Education
Award of Merit – Group
Award of Merit – Individual
Award of Merit – Radio
Award of Merit – Television
2007 AABB-Fenwal Scholarship Awards
2007 AABB Suzanne Ledin Travel Awards
Memorial Awards and Lectureships
2007 Chapman-Franzmeier Memorial Award and Lectureship
Sponsored by Gambro BCT
The Chapman-Franzmeier Memorial Award and Lectureship, created in 1983, recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions locally and nationally to effectively enhance the recruitment of blood donors. Recipient is selected by AABB’s Donor Recruitment/Public Relations Committee with formal approval by AABB’s Board of Directors.
Karen Rhodenizer
Director of Corporate Affairs
LifeSouth Community Blood Centers
Gainesville, Fla.
Citation: For her dedication and contributions to donor recruitment, including her role in establishing and coordinating the "Five Points of Life” cross-country cycling campaign and her service on numerous donor recruitment and communication committees.
Bio/Background: Born in Texas, Karen Rhodenizer earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Florida. She joined LifeSouth Community Blood Centers as a donor recruiter in 1991, and has remained with the organization for 16 years. Ms. Rhodenizer played an integral role in the development and coordination of LifeSouth's “Five Points of Life” program, which raises national awareness for the five ways people can help save lives through the donation of whole blood, apheresis, marrow and blood cells, cord blood, and organ and tissue.
Ms. Rhodenizer has been a member of AABB since 1995 A former chair and current member of AABB's Donor Recruitment/Public Relations (DR/PR) Committee, she also serves on AABB’s Education Program Committee as the liaison from the DR/PR Committee. In addition, she has chaired the Public Relations Steering Committee of America’s Blood Centers.
2007 Dale A. Smith Memorial Award
Endowed by Fenwal, Inc.
This award, created in 2002, honors Dale A. Smith, a longtime Baxter Healthcare executive who was responsible for establishing the Fenwal Division of Baxter. The award recognizes groundbreaking work performed in the application of technology to the practice of transfusion medicine by an individual or an institution. Recipient is selected by the National Blood Foundation (NBF) Scientific Grants Review Committee with formal approval by the NBF Board of Trustees.
Alan L. Jones, PhD
Retired
Endwell, N.Y.
Robert M. Kellogg, PhD
Retired
Tylerton, Md.
Victor R. Kruger
Retired
Wellington, Fla.
Citation: For their work in developing the IBM automated blood cell separator and processor, which have become lasting and integral components of the blood bank and cell processing lab. This technology has been expanded to such applications as washing and leukocyte reduction of red cells and platelets, concentration of marrow mononuclear cells, processing of lymphokine-activated killer cells, separation of cellular components for transplantation, and recovery of perioperatively shed blood.
Bio/Background:
Alan L. Jones, PhD
Born in Ridley Park, Pa., Dr. Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering science and a master’s degree in engineering mechanics from Pennsylvania State University, as well as a doctorate in engineer sciences from Purdue University. Throughout his 26-year career at IBM in Endicott, N.Y., he worked on the development of the IBM automated blood cell separator and processor, as well as elastic wave propagation problems and computer graphics.
In 1971, Dr. Jones invented the Jones Counter, which has been used to measure the official distance of nearly every certified running race in the world, including all Olympic marathons since 1976. His software program, RunScore, is used to process the results for numerous races and triathlons, including the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii.
Following his retirement in 1990, Dr. Jones has served as a volunteer in the Geological Sciences Department of the State University of New York at Binghamton. He has written educational seismology programs that are used at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., as well as many other museums, visitor centers and schools.
Robert M. Kellogg, PhD
Dr. Kellogg was born in New York, N.Y., and after graduating from the City College of New York, joined IBM at its laboratory in Endicott, N.Y. He received an “IBM Scholarship,” which he utilized to pursue his doctorate in fluid mechanics from The Johns Hopkins University.
Upon his return to IBM’s Endicott laboratory, Dr. Kellogg joined the Biomedical Engineering Group, which worked with the National Cancer Institute to develop blood-processing instruments. The group, which he later managed, introduced the IBM automated blood cell separator and processor.
In addition to those accomplishments, Dr. Kellogg received a “Fifth Level Invention Award” from IBM in recognition of his U.S. Patent activity. He retired from IBM in 1991, and currently owns and operates a bed and breakfast inn located in Tylerton, Md.
Victor R. Kruger
Mr. Kruger received his Master of Science degree in engineering administration from Syracuse University. In a 37-year career at IBM, he served in various technical and managerial positions and was a member of the IBM Biomedical Engineering Group for 20 years.
Highlights during Mr. Kruger’s time at IBM include making significant contributions to the introduction of the IBM automated blood cell separator and processor, as well as overseeing the introduction of PC servers into Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He received a “First Level Invention Award” from IBM in recognition of his U.S. Patent activity.
Since retiring from IBM in 1992, Mr. Kruger has served as church administrator and president for Wellington Presbyterian Church, and is currently president of the school board for Wellington Christian School.
2007 David B. Pall Prize for Innovative Research in Transfusion Medicine
Endowed by Pall Corporation
The David B. Pall Prize for Innovative Research in Transfusion Medicine was created in 2005 to honor Pall Corporation’s founder, whose lifetime research advanced the practice of transfusion therapy. This award recognizes a scientist whose original research resulted in an important contribution to the body of scientific knowledge. Recipient is selected by the National Blood Foundation (NBF) Scientific Grants Review Committee with formal approval by the NBF Board of Trustees.
James C. Zimring, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Ga.
Citation: For his completed National Blood Foundation-funded research titled, “Selective Induction of Allotolerance in Bone Marrow Transplantation,” which has provided great insight to improving transplantation and transfusion medicine outcomes.
Bio/Background: Dr. Zimring currently serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine’s Center for Transfusion and Cellular Therapies. His current research focuses on regulation of alloimmunization to antigens on transfused erythrocytes and mechanisms of antibody-mediated reactions to crossmatch-incompatible transfusion. His recent studies have made several contributions to evolving paradigms of transfusion biology, including: the role of inflammation in regulating alloimmunization to transfused red cells, the basic mechanisms of non-hemolytic antigen-loss during crossmatch incompatible transfusion, and the role that immunization against minor histocompatibility antigens on transfused cells plays in priming immune responses for subsequent transplant rejection. These studies are expanding the existing paradigms of transfusion immunology and are elucidating mechanisms of novel outcomes of immune responses to transfused cells.
2007 Emily Cooley Memorial Award and Lectureship
Sponsored by Blood Systems/United Blood Services
The Emily Cooley Memorial Award and Lectureship began as a lectureship in 1963, and was designated as a Memorial Award in 1983. This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated teaching ability and has made a major contribution to the field of immunohematology and transfusion medicine or cellular therapies. Recipient is selected by the Annual Meeting Education Program Unit with formal approval by AABB’s Board of Directors.
Edward L. Snyder, MD
Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Associate Chair for Clinical Affairs
Yale University School of Medicine;
Director, Apheresis, Cell Processing and Blood Bank and
Director, Transfusion Medicine Fellowship
Yale-New Haven Hospital
New Haven, Conn.
Citation: For his numerous original contributions to the field of transfusion medicine, particularly those pertaining to cellular therapy and immunobiology. Dr. Snyder also has extensively studied leukocyte-reduction of blood components, platelet storage lesion, and pathogen reduction technology. He is an exemplary educator, physician, scientist and leader who approaches life with a unique sense of humor.
Bio/Background: Dr. Snyder earned his medical degree from New York Medical College. He was a resident in Internal Medicine, as well as a Hematology fellow and a fellow in Transfusion Medicine at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, New York. Dr. Snyder currently serves as professor of Laboratory Medicine at Yale University Medical School, vice-chair for Clinical Affairs and director of the Blood Bank/Apheresis Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and director of the Richard Frisbee Hematopoietic Cell Processing Laboratory at Yale Medical Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Transfusion Medicine. Dr. Snyder also is director of Shared Resources at the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Snyder is a past president of AABB and a past member of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Blood Products Advisory Committee. He has served on numerous governmental advisory panels and is currently an ad hoc member of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ELB Study Section and K23/K24/K25 Career Development Award SEP. He is a member of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) Hematology and Pathology Devices Panel, and he also serves as vice-chair (and chair-elect) of the National Marrow Donor Program’s (NMDP) Board of Directors.
Dr. Snyder is an associate editor of TRANSFUSION and a member of the editorial board of Blood. He has more than 300 publications in the field of transfusion medicine. His current research interests include studies of leukoreduction filters; the platelet storage lesion; evaluation of new apheresis technologies; isolation of mononuclear cells (MNCs) for manufacture of blood vessels by regenerative medicine techniques; and hematopoietic stem cell mobilization, collection and processing.
2007 Hemphill-Jordan Leadership Award
This award, renamed in 2005, honors leaders from the blood banking and transfusion medicine community, including Bernice Hemphill, W. Quinn Jordan, and Joel Solomon. The award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions in the areas of administration, quality programs, law and/or government affairs. Recipient is selected by AABB’s Administrative Section Coordinating Committee with formal approval by AABB’s Board of Directors.
Jay S. Epstein, MD
Director, Office of Blood Research and Review
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
Rockville, Md.
Citation: In recognition of a career highlighted by major contributions to scientifically principled regulation. His extensive, and continuing, influence in many areas of blood banking, transfusion medicine, public health and epidemiology has earned him a reputation for excellence and leadership that is recognized both nationally and internationally.
Bio/Background: Dr. Epstein currently serves as director of the Office of Blood Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He is the primary individual at FDA responsible for policy development and scientific review related to safety, efficacy and availability of blood and blood products, and for approval of diagnostic tests for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other retroviral infections.
Dr. Epstein joined FDA as a research fellow in 1981. He has held numerous responsible positions in the agency, including his current position since 1993. Under his leadership, FDA has required blood donor screening and testing, where feasible, for numerous agents including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human t-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) and West Nile virus (WNV), and has approved new technologies such as nucleic acid based blood testing. Additionally, Dr. Epstein directs a research program in areas of hematology and infectious diseases relevant to transfusion safety.
Dr. Epstein received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1969 and a medical degree from Downstate Medical College in 1976. He completed training in Internal Medicine and Clinical Infectious Diseases in 1981 at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He holds board certifications in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He has published extensively in the areas of viral immunochemistry and regulatory policy related to blood safety, and he is a recognized international leader in blood safety regulation.
2007 John Elliott Memorial Award
The John Elliott Memorial Award, established in 1956, recognizes an individual who has given outstanding service to AABB by demonstrating a willingness to lend his/her expertise to the association through work on committees, the AABB Board of Directors and other areas. Recipient is selected by AABB’s Scientific Section Coordinating Committee with formal approval by AABB’s Board of Directors.
Phyllis Walker, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB
Manager, Immunohematology Reference Laboratory
Blood Centers of the Pacific
San Francisco, Calif.
Citation: For her active participation in the field of immunohematology and for her outstanding service to AABB. She has contributed significantly to the development and implementation of AABB’s Standards for Immunohematology Reference Laboratories, and she has served as a member and/or chair of several AABB committees.
Bio/Background: Phyllis Walker has dedicated her career to service in transfusion medicine, holding leadership positions in many organizations, including AABB, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and the California Blood Bank Society (CBBS).
Ms. Walker has served on numerous AABB committees including the Specialist in Blood Banking (SBB) Certification Program Unit, the Immunohematology Reference Labs (IRL) Standards Program Unit and the IRL Standards Accreditation Program Unit. She has contributed significantly to the development and implementation of AABB’s Standards for Immunohematology Reference Laboratories, and is one of the authors of the upcoming AABB Technical Manual, 16th Edition. She also has served the association as an IRL assessor.
In addition, Ms. Walker teaches in the Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) program at San Francisco State University and serves as a member of the CLS Internship Advisory Board. She has received two teaching awards from the University of California, San Francisco for excellence in teaching and commitment to resident education, and also has been recognized by ASCP and CBBS for her contributions to the field of blood banking education.
2007 Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award and Lectureship
This award was created in 1954 to honor Karl Landsteiner, MD, whose lifetime research laid the foundation for modern blood transfusion therapy. The award recognizes a scientist whose original research resulted in an important contribution to the body of scientific knowledge. Recipient is selected by AABB’s Board of Directors.
Peter Issitt, PhD, FRCPath
Emeritus Associate Professor of Pathology
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, N.C.
Citation: For his tremendous impact on immunohematology spanning almost 50 years, including his publications in peer-reviewed journals, his excellence in teaching at every level, and his research that resulted in seminal publications in the areas of Rh, glycophorins, autoimmune hemolytic anemia and the antiglobulin test. His book, Applied Blood Group Serology, continues to provide an educational stimulus for immunohematologists all over the world.
Bio/Background: Born and educated in England, Dr. Issitt received his training at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and St. Mary’s Hospital in London. In 1964, Dr. Issitt moved to the United States and worked as a research fellow at the New York Blood Center until 1968. After a brief stint as general manager of Spectra Biologicals in California, he served as an associate professor and director of laboratories at the University of Cincinnati’s Hoxworth Blood Center, as well as director of the University’s Master of Science degree program in immunohematology. In 1981, he moved to Miami to serve as scientific director of the American Red Cross Blood Services South Florida Region. From 1989 to 1998, Dr. Issitt served as an associate professor and scientific director of the Transfusion Service at Duke University Medical Center.
Dr. Issitt’s major research interests were the serology and genetics of the human red cell blood groups. During his 48-year career in immunohematology, he authored six textbooks on the blood groups, including four editions of Applied Blood Group Serology, and contributed chapters to 26 others. He has published 110 original research papers in peer-reviewed journals and has authored more than 300 other reviews and published abstracts.
Throughout his career, Dr. Issitt has received numerous awards and lectureships, including AABB’s Emily Cooley, Ivor Dunsford and Morten Grove-Rasmussen Memorial Awards.
2007 Tibor Greenwalt Scientific Memorial Award and Lectureship
Sponsored by Chiron, a Novartis Business, and friends and colleagues of Dr. Tibor Greenwalt at Hoxworth Blood Center and the transfusion medicine community
This award honors Tibor Greenwalt, MD, the first registrant at the first AABB Annual Meeting and founding editor of TRANSFUSION. The award recognizes an individual who made major scientific or clinical contributions to hematology and transfusion medicine and succinctly communicated these advances. Recipient is selected by the Annual Meeting Education Program Unit with formal approval by AABB’s Board of Directors.
Jeffrey McCullough, MD
Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minn.
Citation: For his contributions to the field of cellular therapy, particularly in the area of stem cell processing, and also in transfusion support of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients. For his role as an internationally recognized leader, talented physician scientist and distinguished educator in the field of transfusion medicine.
Bio/Background: Dr. McCullough is professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology; director of the Biomedical Engineering Institute; and American Red Cross Chair, Transfusion Medicine at the University of Minnesota. His accomplishments in this capacity include leading the University of Minnesota Hospital Blood Bank in the development of novel blood components and implementation of transfusion strategies, conducting an active research program in transfusion medicine and training more than 45 physicians who specialize in transfusion medicine.
Dr. McCullough previously served as executive of the St. Paul Regional Red Cross Blood Services. In this capacity, he developed one of the first programs within the American Red Cross for procurement of organs and tissues for transplantation and one of the first registries in the world for unrelated bone marrow donors. This program was adopted nationally as the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), with Dr. McCullough serving as its first president. From 1990-1991, he served as senior vice president for Biomedical Services at American Red Cross National Headquarters, where he led the transformation of the American Red Cross Blood Service into a pharmaceutical manufacturing operational structure. He has been a trustee of the American Board of Pathology since 1998 and served as its president in 2006.
Dr. McCullough has served in advisory capacities to numerous organizations in the blood community, including AABB. In addition, he served as editor of TRANSFUSION for 15 years and is author or co-author of approximately 250 scientific and medical publications, including his textbook, Transfusion Medicine. He is a recipient of numerous awards.
Dr. McCullough received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and his medical degree from Ohio State University. He received postgraduate medical training at Vanderbilt University and the University of Minnesota, and has studied on sabbatical at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
2007 International Woman in Transfusion Award
In 2004, for the first time in their collective histories, three of the major transfusion medicine organizations in the world – AABB, the British Blood Transfusion Society (BBTS) and the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) – were led by women professionals. To commemorate this occurrence, the three organizations established this unique award to honor women for lifetime achievements in transfusion medicine and science. This award recognizes women professionals whose cumulative record – in original research, innovative education methods or outstanding clinical practice – demonstrates important and significant contributions to the body of medical and/or scientific knowledge or to the understanding and practice of transfusion medicine. Recipient is selected by AABB, the British Blood Transfusion Society, and the International Society of Blood Transfusion.
Pearl Toy, MD
Professor of Laboratory Medicine and
Chief, Blood Bank and Donor Center
University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, Calif.
Citation: For her numerous contributions as a dedicated educator, clinician and researcher in transfusion medicine, including her research in the effects of acute anemia and transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), and her development of transfusion practice improvements such as prospective blood usage review.
Bio/Background: Born in Hong Kong, Dr. Toy is a dedicated educator, clinician and researcher in transfusion medicine. She is a graduate of Smith College and Stanford Medical School.
Dr. Toy was one of the first five recipients of the “Transfusion Medicine Academic Award,” which was given by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As a recipient of this award, Dr. Toy developed multi-center audits as an educational tool and established one of the first prospective blood usage review systems, which is widely used today. In addition, she has served as principal investigator of three consecutive NHLBI Specialized Centers of Research grants in transfusion medicine. Collaboratively, she has conducted leading research in the effects of acute anemia and transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI).
2007 President’s Award
This honor recognizes extraordinary public service and contributions by an individual or an organization in the health care arena. The recipient’s work furthers AABB’s goals and mission.
Richard B. Counts, MD
President and CEO
Puget Sound Blood Center;
Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology
University of Washington
Seattle, Wash.
Citation: For his outstanding work in, and commitment to, the treatment of hemophilia. For more than 35 years, his leadership in this area has contributed to the development of life-saving treatments and comprehensive care for patients with congenital bleeding disorders. Dr. Counts is a true innovator whose contributions will continue to impact the treatment and understanding of hemophilia for years to come.
Bio/Background: A graduate of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., Dr. Counts worked at the National Institutes of Health before being named co-director of the hemophilia program at the Puget Sound Blood Center (the Blood Center) in 1973. He was appointed executive director of the Blood Center in 1987 and currently serves as its president.
For more than 35 years, his leadership in hemophilia research has contributed to the development of life-saving treatments and comprehensive care for patients with congenital bleeding disorders in Washington, northern Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Dr. Counts’ research and patient care resulted in a significantly lower mortality rate — 13 percent — among the Blood Center’s hemophilia patients during the AIDS crisis, when the national average was 85 – 90 percent in clinics using commercial freeze-dried, pooled concentrates rather than volunteer donor cryoprecipitate. Additionally, Dr. Counts has helped the hemophilia program develop a database of records concerning bleeding, treatments, musculoskeletal function and x-rays that serves as a significant resource for continued research.
Dr. Counts has participated on many different committees involving several organizations, including the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Blood Diseases and Resources Advisory Committee and the Advisory Committee on Comprehensive Hemophilia Treatment Centers. He also served as president of the Council of Community Blood Centers from 1986 to 1989.
2007 Outstanding Achievement Award – Organization