ISCT Awards Honors to Dr. Catherine Bollard and Dr. Donald Kohn
The International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) announced the recipients of its 2021 achievement awards. Congratulations to Drs. Catherine Bollard and Donald Kohn!
Dr. Bollard, FACT’s President and long-time FACT inspector and committee volunteer, will be the first recipient of the Darwin J. Prockop Mentoring Award. This award recognizes, “an outstanding individual who has excelled as a mentor and has contributed to the ongoing development of their mentees in the field of cell and gene therapy.” The ISCT website quotes fellow FACT Board Member Patrick Hanley’s account of Dr. Bollard’s mentorship: “Cath’s impact on the field of cellular therapy and the practice of medicine is no longer restricted to her own success, but is now emanating in seeds she has planted and nurtured in the over 93 individuals she has mentored, including 22 junior faculty, 27 post doctoral fellows, and 12 graduate students. Dr. Bollard acts as a mentor to other senior investigators at CNH as well, particularly those in the Bone Marrow Transplantation division. Cath is the most deserving mentor for this award.”
Dr. Kohn, a member of FACT’s Genetically-Modified HPC Subcommittee, will receive the 2021 ISCT Career Achievement Award. Dr. Kohn is a leader in research in gene therapy, and was instrumental in evaluating FACT Standards in the context of genetically modified cells and recommending additions to maintain the Standards’ relevance as these cells expand further into the clinic. Dr. Jan Nolta described to ISCT the most important contribution he has made, which has been to improve the lives of children: “Prof. Kohn developed the first successful hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy, for children with ‘bubble baby disease’- ADA deficiency – and has now functionally cured over 50 children.”
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