Judith Gasson, professor emerita and senior adviser for research and innovation to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been awarded the 2020 American Society of Hematology Basic Science Mentor Award for her contributions to helping hematology trainees throughout her career.
The award recognizes Gasson for her impact on the careers of her mentees, who have gone on to advance research and patient care in the field of hematology.
“Mentorship to me is the ultimate investment in the future. I believe in the power of science to teach and to heal,” Gasson said. “It is an extraordinary honor for me to be recognized in this way. I am most grateful.”
Gasson previously served as director of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center for two decades and was also the senior associate dean for research and co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. She has devoted her career to the study of cytokine biology and signaling pathways in normal and malignant hematopoiesis. She was instrumental in purifying a hormone-like substance (GM-CSF) that increases the speed of bone marrow cell reproduction.