The iCMLf Prizes
 
iCMLf Rowley Prize 

The Rowley Prize is awarded each year by the iCMLf to an individual who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to our understanding of the biology of CML. The Rowley Prize was awarded for the first time in 2009 to Dr Brian Druker, followed by Dr Moshe Talpaz (2010), Dr John Goldman (2011), Dr George Q Daley (2012), Dr Connie Eaves (2013), Dr. Owen Witte (2014), Dr Rick Van Etten (2015), Professors John Groffen and Nora Heisterkamp (2016), Professor Tessa Holyoake (2017), Professor Nick Cross (2018), Professor Michael Deininger (2019), Professor Ravi Bhatia (2020), Professor Susan Branford (2021), Professor Oliver Hantschel (2022) and Professor Jerry Radich (2023). 

Dr Janet Rowley kindly gave the iCMLf permission to name this prestigious award in her honour. Prior to her death in December 2013, Dr Rowley was the Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology and Human 
Genetics at the University of Chicago. In 1973 she made a seminal discovery in CML when she used newly developed chromosome banding techniques to show that the Philadelphia chromosome is formed by a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22. This discovery led to the eventual identification of the fusion gene BCR-ABL and ultimately to the development of targeted inhibitors of this leukemia-specific oncoprotein. This is one of many major contributions made by Dr Rowley and her team to our understanding of the molecular biology of leukemia and other cancers. She was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour awarded in the USA.

iCMLf Goldman Prize

The iCMLf Goldman Prize complements the Rowley Prize as a clinical equivalent by recognising lifetime contributions to the management of patients with CML. This award has been created in memory of the late iCMLf chair, John Goldman, to honour his commitment to clinical excellence in treating CML. John Goldman was an outstanding scientist with a worldwide recognition and a leading figure in CML research. During his career of over 40 years he made major contribution to the understanding of the biology and the treatment of CML. He made seminal contributions to a variety of breakthroughs in CML research particularly in the field of stem cell transplantation, in the clinical development of new therapies and in the advancements of diagnostics. He was the first to demonstrate the presence of stem cells in the peripheral blood of CML patients and their potential role in autografting patients with CML. He also pioneered allogeneic stem cell transplant for CML in Europe. John Goldman played a distinctive and visionary role for the iCMLf as one of its co-founders and sitting chair at the time of his death. The Goldman Prize was awarded for the first time in 2014 to Professor Rüdiger Hehlmann, he was followed by Michele Bacarrani (2015), Professor Hagop Kantarjian (2016), Professor Tim Hughes (2017), Professor Jorge Cortes (2018), Professor François-Xavier Mahon (2019), Professor Jane Apperley (2020), Professor Giuseppe Saglio (2021), Professor Andreas Hochhaus (2022) and Professor François Guilhot (2023).

iCMLf Prize

In 2015 the iCMLf introduced a new prize. The iCMLf Prize is awarded annually by the iCMLf to recognise outstanding contributions to the improvement of CML treatment in the emerging economic regions. The iCMLf Prize was formerly named the ERSAP (Emerging Regions Support and Partnership Prize) and was first awarded in 2015 to Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, CEO of The Max Foundation. She was followed by Associate Professor Susan Branford in 2016, Professor Jerry Radich (2017), Professor Hemant Malhotra (2018), Dr Carolina Pavlovsky (2019), Dr Sabira Kurtovic (2020) Dr Damira Bayzakova (2021), Giora Sharf & Jan Geissler (2022) and Kostyantyn Kotlyarchuk & Iryna Dyagil (2023).

. 

Recognising those improving CML treatment in Low and Middle Income Countries - the 2023 iCMLf Prize nominees

The iCMLf Prize honours people who have done outstanding work improving CML management under resource-constraint conditions in low and middle-income countries. Each year, we receive many nominations from the CML community for this prize…

And it’s always difficult to make a choice...

This year the iCMLf prize was awarded to Professor Iryna Dyagil and Dr Kostyantyn Kotlyarchuk, two Ukrainian hematologists in recognition of their work for people with CML under the challenging conditions of war and disruption.

In addition, there were also 11 physicians and patient advocates from ten different countries who were nominated for their dedication and life changing work for people with CML.

Today we are taking the opportunity to acknowledge all of the nominees and to thank them for their work to help people with CML in low and middle-income countries – through their research, their clinical practice and through their advocacy.

Read more