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The American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) 2010 Distinguished Career Award Goes to Dr. Sam Lux

Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: Late nights discussing the latest Nature, Cell or Science publication with fellows, Hematology rounds discussing the flow of K+ ions across red cell membranes and why this was important to the patient's hemolytic anemia, hours of arguments with architects about where the gas petcock should be placed on the bench in the next research building, this is the Sam Lux we have all come to love. Sam's dedication to the field of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and his commitment to the people under his wing are monumental, but for me, most of all, it is Sam's relentless pursuit of the very best trainees to become Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologists that I appreciate the most. Sam is a classic “triple threat”: he has a brilliant mind for science, an innate talent for identifying potential excellence in young trainees and recruiting them into his division, and finally, he is a consummate teacher and mentor, shepherding these trainees to make the most of their potential. Sam is receiving the Distinguished Career Award by the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in recognition of a career spent nurturing the careers of others, and bringing many brilliant minds into the field of Hematology/Oncology who may have otherwise found homes elsewhere. Sam grew up in Topeka, Kansas; his family members were well-known residents in the area (and similar to me, he has had a life-long passion for college basketball). Sam graduated from Topeka High School, leaving Kansas upon graduation for a year to study at Rice University in Texas. He returned to Kansas to complete his bachelor's degree and to attend medical school, graduating in 1967 from Kansas University School of Medicine. Dr. David Nathan, a man for whom identifying talent became an art form, heavily recruited Sam for an internship and residency in pediatric medicine at Boston Children's Hospital. In 1969, Sam left for a fellowship in lipoprotein chemistry at the National Institutes of Health. Although he was particularly productive during these years, Sam struggled with competing desires to build a research career with a love of patient care. Dr. Nathan wisely counseled Sam in 1971, that “if you decide to come here [to Boston], it will be because you want to devote yourself to patients in the broad sense as well as to research in the more restricted sense.” At the end of 1972, after much consideration, Sam returned to Boston as a clinical fellow in Hematology, working with both adult and pediatric hematology patients and beginning the research project that would define his career. Thirteen years after his return to Boston, Sam assumed a leadership role as Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Children's Hospital Boston, a position he held for the next 23 years. The program at Children's Hospital Boston was founded in the early 1940s by Dr. Louis K. Diamond and the oncology service was started in that decade at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute by Dr. Sidney Farber. The combined service was run by Dr. David G. Nathan from 1967 until 1985. As the subsequent Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children's Hospital, Sam took a faculty of 21 physicians with 11,000 square feet of research space and transformed it into one of the largest pediatric Hematology/Oncology Programs in the country. At the end of Sam's tenure as Chief, in 2008, he left the division with ∼44,000 sq. ft. of research space, more than 90 faculty members, and 18 clinical fellows. Supported by more federal funding than any other Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Division in the country, Sam, following Nathan's example, supported fellow training in any of the outstanding academic institutions in Boston and Cambridge, ensuring the faculty was able to utilize the latest technology to perform innovative and cutting-edge research. Thus, as chief, Sam was able to continue a tradition of medical and academic excellence in an electric atmosphere that rewarded research excellence. Indeed, Sam himself was a model physician–scientist; he has had a successful basic science career while maintaining a robust clinical practice. His work has been defined by a focus on understanding the biology of and improving the care for patients with hemolytic anemias. Sam's early work, which began shortly after his return to Boston revealed the central role of the membrane skeleton in irreversibly sickled cells (JCI, 58:955-963, 1976). Later, he discovered the first molecular defect in spectrin in hereditary spherocytosis (NEJM, 307:1367-1374, 1982). Dr. Lux went on to define the structure of the erythrocyte anion-exchange protein, band 3 (PNAS, 86:9098-9093, 1989) and then that of erythrocyte ankyrin, the first protein recognized to contain an “ankyrin-repeat” (a term coined in Nature 344:36-42, 1990). In work that caps two decades of investigation, Dr. Lux showed that mutations in ankyrin are the major cause of hereditary spherocytosis in man (Nature 345: 736-9, 1990 and Nature Genet. 13:214-218, 1996) and that band 3 is required to prevent membrane surface loss (Cell 86:917-927, 1996). Sam has been at the forefront of virtually every major discovery in the field of human hemolytic anemias. His research has resulted in more than 150 peer reviewed journal articles, reviews, and book chapters. He has made important contributions to the foremost textbook of pediatric hematology/oncology, Nathan and Oski's Hematology of Infancy and Childhood. In addition to an authoritative chapter on the red cell membrane and disorders, Sam has contributed his wisdom to the planning and editing of this preeminent textbook. However, Sam's most influential and long-lasting impact on our field is in the training, mentorship, and education of the next generations of Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologists. He has spent a career fostering the career of others in the field. In this sense Sam has influenced countless lives and improved the standing of the field of pediatrics—specifically but not only in Hematology/Oncology—the quality of research and care of patients, and fostered relationships that continue to lead to new results in the field. The training program in Hematology/Oncology at Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Sam's stead has produced two Presidents of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, thirty leaders in academic medicine at the Chief or Chair level, a Dean of Medicine, and four industry CEO's. Countless of these individuals, often identified while in medical school, were directed towards pediatrics and trained under the mentorship of Sam Lux. Without Sam's guidance and direction, many of these people may have chosen a different career path entirely. Sam's mentoring approach is unique. He identifies potential pediatricians and hematologist/oncologists early in medical school and while making rounds with pediatric residents at Children's Hospital. Once on “Sam's list,” an individual is guaranteed life-long guidance and support. Remarkably, if an outstanding residency applicant chooses another hospital for general pediatric training, Sam will keep in touch with the individual, hoping to recruit him or her to the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship program at Children's Hospital Boston for specialty training. Sam has no equal as a recruiter of talented individuals. He has great taste and is relentless in his pursuit of talent. Indeed, we all suspect that ‘Sam's list’ actually extends down to pre-schools and elementary schools across the country. He must be a secret member of the National Education Association. For those trainees who come to the program, Sam is well known for intense, honest, and thoughtful guidance. The inaugural recipient of the American Society of Hematology Mentor Award, many former mentees can share stories of Sam's style of mentorship, often involving long and late night meetings. Sam's approach to mentorship, and to teaching (another area in which he has been well-honored), puts to use what can only be termed an encyclopedic knowledge that encompasses all aspects of science and medicine. Among the smartest individuals that I have met, Sam never hesitates to take a few minutes to make the most of a “teachable moment,” many of which have occurred in places as diverse as elevators and along Longwood Avenue. Many a spouse has pleaded for Sam to “release” their loved ones from science discussions continuing long into the night. Sam Lux has trained many of greatest minds in hematology, has advanced research and treatment in red blood cell disorders, and has shown such compassion and brilliance in the clinic that patients come from all over the world to see him. For the nearly 40 years he has spent in this field, we owe him a great debt and he richly deserves this special honor. I know that he treasures the recognition for his efforts to identify and train the next generation of physician–scientists.
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.22473
Language: English
Field: Psychology
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2062049515
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