The EHA2021 Annual Congress Award Winners: Celebrating Excellence in Hematology
Authors: John Gribben, Elizabeth Macintyre, Pieter Sonneveld
Journal: HemaSphere (2021)

The European Hematology Association (EHA) organized its first congress in 1994, and since 1998, has offered a congress annually. Each year, clinicians and researchers in hematology from around the world gather to enjoy a cutting-edge scientific program dedicated to clinical, basic, and translational research and clinical practice. This annual event brings the hematology community together—both in person as well as virtually in more recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic—to consolidate, discuss, and share the knowledge and experience gained worldwide. Along with updates on the diagnosis and management of patients with hematologic disorders, cutting-edge research presentations, and networking, the EHA congress is a time to celebrate the amazing accomplishments within the hematology field. As such, EHA is proud to feature 3 highly prestigious awards: the David Grimwade Award, the José Carreras Award, and the Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award. These awards honor, celebrate, and recognize the winners’ tremendous contributions to the advancement of hematology. This year, EHA continues this tradition, and on behalf of the entire EHA Executive Board, we are delighted to announce and celebrate these exemplary leaders in hematology. 2021 David Grimwade Award Winner: Olivier Bernard In 2017, EHA established an award in honor of the late David Grimwade for his great involvement and contribution to EHA as Board Member, EHA-ASH Translational Research Training in Hematology (TRTH) Co-Director, and Chair of the Scientific Program Committee. David was internationally renowned for his translational research, particularly in the field of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Therefore, the award is presented each year to honor leading and active basic and translational researchers in the field of hematology. EHA is proud to grant the David Grimwade Award 2021 to Olivier Bernard, PhD. Olivier Bernard trained in biochemistry and cytogenetics and obtained his PhD from what is now Université de Paris in 1990. During a long, successful career as an INSERM staff scientist, a group and team leader at the Centre d’Etudes de Polymorphismes Humaines then Necker Hospital, Paris, he moved to the Institut Gustav Roussy and Paris-Saclay University in 2010 where he is currently the head of a team working on molecular hematopoiesis. Doctor Bernard’s seminal contributions to our understanding of hematological malignancies include delineating the role of JAK2 and TET2 in oncogenesis and their impact on hematopoiesis. A journey through the effect of somatic mutations on cell signaling to transcriptional and epigenetic deregulation in both myeloid and lymphoid malignancies made him internationally renowned in both the leukemia and, more recently, lymphoma communities. Author of >150 peer-reviewed publications, many of the highest quality, Professor Bernard has been the president of the French Hematology Society Scientific Committee and a member of many of the leading French Research funding bodies. He has trained many generations of MD, PhDs, and continues to play an eminent role in maintaining the scientific excellence in our specialty. As a natural extension of his national contribution, he has recently joined the EHA Fellowships & Grants Committee, where he will apply his knowledge and passion to tomorrow’s leaders in research and hematology throughout Europe. Dr Bernard’s contributions to both basic and translational malignant hematology make him a fitting beneficiary of the David Grimwade Award. 2021 José Carreras Award Winner: Elias Campo Founded in 2008, the José Carreras Award was established to honor leaders in hematologic translational and clinical research, and is presented each year to an established and active investigator who has made an important contribution to hematology. This honor has been bestowed upon internationally recognized specialists for their invaluable contributions to the field of hematology. EHA congratulates the winner of the José Carreras Award 2021 to Elias Campo, MD, PhD. Elias Campo is a clinical pathologist and a pioneer in the field of modern genetics for all types of hematological malignancies. He has built a major genetics platform in Barcelona, and his work on genomic and epigenomic alterations has provided outstanding contributions to the understanding of pathogenesis of hematological malignancies with important clinical implications. Professor Campo’s exploration of the molecular pathology of lymphoid neoplasms has greatly contributed to our current understanding of malignant lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He is one of the leading experts who defined the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of lymphoid neoplasms. He is currently director of The August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), and a director of Research at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and the Clinic Foundation for Biomedical Research in Barcelona, Spain. Professor Campo has authored >600 scientific articles, he was president of the European Association of Haematopathology, he is member of the International Cancer Genome Consortium Governing Committee and is member of the WHO editing team for the Classification of Haematological Neoplasias. He was recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences in the United States. Professor Campo has truly and significantly contributed to our understanding of hematological malignancies. 2021 Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Christine Chomienne The Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2008 to honor outstanding physicians and scientists for their lifetime contribution to the advancement of hematology. Throughout the years, EHA has awarded a number of clinicians and researchers who have contributed to the hematology community effort of expanding knowledge and providing better care to patients. EHA is proud to grant the Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 to Christine Chomienne, MD, PhD. Christine Chomienne is a professor of Cellular Biology at the Université de Paris, France, a director of the University Inserm Research Laboratory at the Institut Universitaire d’Hématologie, Paris, for the last 25 years, and a vice-chair of the Mission Board Cancer at the European Commission. She has served many roles within EHA, including her role as the President of EHA from 2013 to 2015. Professor Chomienne qualified in medicine at the Université Paris Diderot, received certification for specialized training in Hematology in 1983, and obtained her PhD in 1989. She was the head of the Cell Biology Department at the Hôpital Saint Louis, Paris, a director of Research and Innovation at the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), and a director of the Cancer Institute of France Research Organisations. She has served on many scientific and clinical committees in France and Europe in leukemia, immunology, oncology, and stem cell research. Professor Chomienne has recently been involved in patient/parent participation in cancer research, and in communication education on personalized medicine approaches. Professor Chomienne has always been committed to education nationally and internationally. She served as a coordinator of different courses and masters programs at the University Paris Diderot, established the Institute of PhD Schools there (23 PhD of all disciplines), and she coordinated an Innovative Training Network (ITN) Marie Curie FP7 on cancer stem cells. She has been a pioneer researcher in differentiation therapy, translated ATRA therapy in APL in 1987, coordinated the European Biomed I network on APL from 1991 to 1995, and devoted her time in translational research in myeloid malignancies and coordinating internal conferences and networks for dissemination and training in novel concepts and technologies in France and throughout Europe. Furthermore, she is author/co-author of >270 peer-reviewed publications, and has received several scientific awards (Academia of Science) and French governmental awards, including the Legion of Honour. Professor Chomienne is a very worthy recipient of this award. In Closing Hematology is on the frontline of innovation in medicine, and the hematology community is the true engine of the evolution of healthcare treatment, from the bench to the bedside. These EHA Awards recognize the excellence and lifetime achievements of members of our community. We are proud to extend our gratitude and congratulations to Olivier Bernard, Elias Campo, and Christine Chomienne. Disclosures JG received research funding from Astra Zeneca, Celgene, Janssen. PI of clinical trials for AbbVie, BeiGene, Roche/Genentech, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Epizyme, Gilead/Kite, Merck, Takeda, TG Therapeutics and a honoraria from AbbVie, AstraZeneca, BMS, Gilead and Kite, Janssen, Novartis, Morphosys, and Novartis. EM is a consultant for Servier, an elected board member of the BioMed Alliance and member of the working group for In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices of the Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG, an expert group of the European Commission), a grant holder for the League National Contre le Cancer, and received research funding support from the Société Française des Cancer de l’Enfant (SFCE) and the LYmphoma Study Association (LYSA), France. PS is honoraria and advisory roles for Celgene, Janssen, Amgen, Takeda, Bristol Myers Squibb, Skyline, and received research funding from Celgene, Amgen, Janssen, Takeda.