William Dameshek (1900 in

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

– 1969) was an American hematologist. He graduated from Harvard College and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

and spent the early part of his career at Beth Israel Hospital (now

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, Massachusetts is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital (founded in 1916) and New England Deaconess Hospital (founded ...

). He was the founder of ''

Blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...

'', the prime core clinical journal of hematology, in 1946. He is also credited with describing the concept of

myeloproliferative disease Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of rare blood cancers in which excess red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets are produced in the bone marrow. ''Myelo'' refers to the bone marrow, ''proliferative'' describes the rapid grow ...

s in 1951. In addition, he participated in the first studies of nitrogen mustard in various

hematological malignancies Tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (American English) or tumours of the haematopoietic and lymphoid tissues (British English) are tumors that affect the blood, bone marrow, lymph, and lymphatic system. Because these tissues are al ...

, widely considered the first uses of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

in malignant diseases. Dr Dameshek was also the first one who described chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a common form of leukemia in adults. Dr. Dameshek served as president of the

American Society of Hematology The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is a professional organization representing hematologists. It was founded in 1958. Its annual meeting is held in December of every year and has attracted more than 30,000 attendees. The society publishes t ...

(ASH) in 1964. He made numerous contributions to ASH as well as the field of hematology and was the first editor of its journal ''

''. Given Dr. Dameshek's accomplishments, ASH has named the Dameshek Prize in his honor. Each year the Dameshek Prize is awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in hematology.

References

* Goodman LS, Wintrobe MM, Dameshek W, Goodman MJ, Gilman A and McLennan MT. ''Nitrogen mustard therapy. Use of methyl-bis(beta-chloroethyl)amine hydrochloride and tris(beta-chloroethyl)amine hydrochloride for Hodgkin's disease, lymphosarcoma, leukemia, and certain allied and miscellaneous disorders.'' J Am Med Assoc 1946;105:475-476. Reprinted in JAMA 1984;251:2255-61. . *Crosby WH. ''Dr. William Dameshek: a Biographical Comment.'' Blood 1960;15:580-4. .

External links

The American Society of Hematology

William Dameshek papers, 1946-1969 (inclusive), 1962-1969 (bulk). B MS c117. Boston Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
1900 births 1969 deaths People from Voronezh People from Voronezhsky Uyezd Russian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American people of Russian-Jewish descent American hematologists Harvard College alumni Harvard Medical School alumni Presidents of the American Society of Hematology {{US-physician-stub