Dr. Ross Levine is a physician researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he is the Laurence Joseph Dineen Chair in Leukemia Research and the Senior Vice President for Translational Research at Memorial Hospital.  He completed his medical degree at Johns Hopkins, residency in Internal Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  He completed his postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Gilliland where he worked to identify mutations in JAK2 as drivers of myeloproliferative diseases.  In his career, he has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the William Dameshek prize from the American Society of Hematology.  He has published over 300 peer-reviewed research papers, highlighting his broad impact on the fields of acute myeloid leukemia, myeloproliferative disorders, and clonal hematopoiesis.  In his career, he has trained 17 postdoctroal fellows and 6 graduate students.

Dr. Levine continues to support colleagues at all levels.  Dr. Jennifer Trowbridge writes, “Dr. Levine has profoundly impacted my career trajectory as well as those of many others. He is exceedingly generous in offering career advice in all respects and always makes time to coach and mentor formally and informally.”  His recent trainee, Aaron Viny writes, “Ross has been the driving scientific influence in my career.  In my opinion, Ross represents the model for mentoring the next generation of independent scientists.  Ross is distinguished by how deeply and genuinely he cares about his trainees.”  This sentiment is echoed by another recent trainee, Bobby Bowman, who writes, “The implicit trust Ross offered throughout my postdoc is the single most important mentoring experience I have had to date, and something I aim to offer every future lab member.”  Another trainee, Linde Miles, writes, “Ross truly takes the time to interact, understand, and support each of his mentees. We are and always have been his top priority, regardless of how busy his schedule is. Ross supports each mentee to the fullest of his ability and provides personalized mentorship based on their needs and career path.”

Dr. Katherine King, the 2024 recipient of the ISEH DEI award, is a trailblazer in the field of immunology and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) research. With an MD/PhD from the Washington University School of Medicine and a residency in Pediatrics from Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. King has dedicated her career to understanding the intricate relationship between inflammation and HSC biology.

Dr. King's groundbreaking work began during her postdoctoral research in the lab of Dr. Margaret “Peggy” Goodell, where she made seminal discoveries regarding the direct impact of inflammation on HSCs. In 2013, Dr. King established her own lab at the Pediatrics Department of Baylor College of Medicine, where she produced a wealth of insights into the role of inflammatory mediators on HSC function, exploring areas such as the intestinal microbiome and the consequences of chronic inflammation on aging, clonal hematopoiesis, and cancer.

Beyond her research, Dr. King is deeply committed to training the next generation of clinical and research fellows. Her dedication to mentorship is evident in the scores of alumni and mentees, from high school to postdoctoral fellow, who have had the opportunity to work alongside her, benefiting from her expertise, guidance, and unwavering support. In a truly remarkable fashion, Dr. King provided in the last decade mentorship to clinical fellows, research scientists and graduate students, reminding us of the importance of bridging gaps between different research communities. As the 2024 recipient of the ISEH DEI award, Dr. Katherine King exemplifies the mentorship that the society promotes and encourages from its members. Her dedication to advancing our understanding of immunology and HSC biology, coupled with her commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientists, serves as an inspiration to us all.