William Dameshek

Who was William Dameshek?

William Dameshek was an American hematologist. Trained at Harvard, he was the founder of Blood, the prime core clinical journal of hematology, in 1946. He is also credited with describing the concept of myeloproliferative diseases in 1951. In addition, he participated in the first studies of nitrogen mustard in various hematological malignancies, widely considered the first uses of chemotherapy in malignant diseases. Dr Dameshek was also the first one who described chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a commom form of leukemia in adults.

Dr. Dameshek served as president of the American Society of Hematology in 1964. He made numerous contributions to ASH as well as the field of hematology and was the first editor of its journal Blood. Given Dr. Dameshek's accomplishments, ASH has named the Dameshek Prize in his honor. Each year the Dameshek Prize is awarded to individual who has made an outstanding contribution in hematology.