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Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH,
Begins Term as 2018 ASH President
Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH
Alexis A. Thompson, MD, MPH, a
world-renowned expert in sickle cell
disease and thalassemia, will serve as
president of the American Society of
Hematology (ASH) for a year-long
term through December 2018.
Dr. Thompson is the head of the
hematology section of the Division of
Hematology Oncology Transplanta-
tion and director of the Comprehensive
Thalassemia Program at the Ann and
Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of
Chicago, where she also serves as the A.
Watson and Sarah Armour Endowed
Chair for Childhood Cancer and Blood
Disorders. She is also an associate direc-
tor of Equity and Minority Health at the
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer
Center of Northwestern University in
Chicago.
During her more than 20 years of in-
volvement with ASH, Dr. Thompson has
served in a variety of volunteer roles,
including a four-year term as an ASH
councillor from 2010 to 2014, a co-chair
of the ASH Annual Meeting Education
Program, a reviewer for Blood, and a
mentor for the Minority Medical Student
Award Program for more than 10 years.
Dr. Thompson is also a member of the
ASH Sickle Cell Task Force.
As the Society’s new president, Dr.
Thompson is interested in enhancing
the trainee pipeline in hematology,
particularly in non-malignant
hematology. She also seeks to focus on
ASH’s global strategy to promote the
best science and patient care throughout
the world and to foster international
collaborations in hematology, including
expansion into regions with unmet
scientific and medical needs.
Free ASH Course on
Biosimilars
Biosimilars are increasingly enter-
ing hematology clinical practice.
In this two-part, audio-guided
online course, “Biosimilars: A
New Era of Hematology/Oncol-
ogy Management Considerations,”
experts present key information on
biosimilars, including the FDA ap-
proval process, safety, and appropri-
ate use. Participants then apply what
they have learned through evaluation
of three case-based scenarios. Visit
programs.ashacademy.org/biosimilars to
access the entire course.
Faculty and course list are as follows:
Jeffrey Crawford, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
• FDA Criteria for Biosimilar Approval
• Patients With Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Considering
Biosimilars (with Dr. Lyman)
Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPH, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
• Why Biosimilars, Why Now?
• Interchangeability and Pharmacy-Level Substitution
• Patients With Relapsed Large Cell Lymphoma: Reference Product or Biosimilar? (with Dr. Zelenetz)
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Ketteri