Richard Larson,MD , Professor of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology) and Director of the the Hematologic Malignancy Program has been named as the recipient of the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) 2019 Henry M. Stratton Medal for his seminal contributions to clinical hematology research.
Dr. Larson’s career has been dedicated to the design and leadership of groundbreaking therapeutic trials for patients with leukemia, and he has made significant strides in understanding the genetic basis of leukemia and translating these insights into more effective treatments for patients. Dr. Larson led the Leukemia Committee of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), now called the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, at a time when tremendous progress was being made to identify recurrent genetic mutations across multiple different types of acute and chronic leukemias. Under his leadership, CALGB completed 42 clinical trials, more than 170 presented abstracts, and 142 published reports, many of which have had an impact on clinical practice. His insights into the genetic basis of leukemia have inspired therapeutic concepts for adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; these were tested in CALGB studies and became known as the “Larson” regimen, a standard of care for a decade. More recently, he promoted the development of treatments designed for adolescents and young adults with leukemia. Dr. Larson also helped assemble a multinational consortium, together with colleagues from across North America, Europe, and Asia, to complete a randomized clinical trial that resulted in the approval of midostaurin, the first targeted therapy for FLT3-mutant acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive type of cancer.
The Henry M. Stratton Medal is named after the late Henry Maurice Stratton, co-founder of Grune and Stratton, the medical publishing house that first published ASH’s flagship journal Blood. The prize honors two senior investigators whose contributions to basic and clinical/translational hematology research are well recognized and have taken place over a period of several years. Dr. Larson accepted his award on December 10, 2019 at the 61st ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando.
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