Storb lauded as outstanding mentor by ASH

The Clinical Research Division’s Dr. Rainer Storb is being honored by the American Society of Hematology with a Mentor Award for his sustained, outstanding commitment to the training and career development of junior hematologists. Storb receives his award on Dec. 9 during ASH’s 54th annual meeting in Atlanta.

The ASH Mentor Award was established in 2006 to recognize hematologists who have excelled in mentoring trainees and colleagues. Each year, ASH honors two mentors, one in the basic sciences and one in clinical investigation andtraining, who have had a significant, positive impact on their mentees’ careers, and, through their mentees, have advanced research and patient care in the field of hematology. ASH members nominate candidates whose mentorship shaped their careers.

Storb, the winner for basic science mentoring, leads the Hutchinson Center’s Transplantation Biology Program and is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington. In 1965 he began work in the Division of Hematology at the University of Washington under the mentorship of the late Dr. E. Donnall Thomas. Storb was part of Fred Hutch’s founding faculty when the Center formed in 1975. Since then, he has mentored more than 150 trainees, including 10 current Fred Hutch faculty members.

Thorough and constructive passage of knowledge

Among his many leadership and mentorship qualities, Storb is perhaps best known for uniquely challenging his mentees to foster their intellectual growth, continually underscoring the importance of rigorous basic science training to ensure their future clinical research success. Described by his mentees as thorough and constructive, Storb places significant emphasis on having trainees focus on the overall landscape of published literature in the field to inform their manuscripts. An articulate and effective speaker, Storb has passed his knowledge down to his trainees, encouraging them to present their work in a broad range of venues ranging from lab gatherings to international meetings. He has also supported mentees’ efforts to submit applications for independent research funding. Storb’s legacy in the field is evidenced by his distinguished group of trainees who now lead institutes and transplantation centers around the world.

Storb has been honored in the past with two additional ASH honorific awards, including the 1997 Henry M. Stratton Medal and the 2005 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize.

[Adapted from an American Society of Hematology news release]