Learn from These #ASGCT23 Award Recipients

We're looking forward to hearing from experts in GCT during the Annual Meeting, including this year's recipients of Annual Meeting awards. We asked two of these recipients about their awards and presenting their work at the meeting.

Don't miss their presentations May 16-20 in Los Angeles, CA, virtually, or on demand.

Register for the meeting

David A. Williams, MD

Boston Children’s Hospital + Harvard Medical School
Founders Award

Established in 2022, the ASGCT Founders Award recognizes a pioneering contributor to the gene and cell therapy field. It is among the Society’s highest honors and the recipient presents a keynote lecture highlighting their accomplishments that led to the award.

ASGCT: How do you feel about the chance to present your work at the Annual Meeting as part of receiving this award? What does this acknowledgement of your work mean to you?

DAW: I am very grateful for this completely unexpected honor. It recognizes so many people who have worked with me since 1982 when I started as a post-doc to develop RV vectors to insert genes into hematopoietic stem cells. So many people have contributed to the advancement of the field since then in my laboratory as well as very outstanding collaborators, many of whom have become very valued colleagues and friends. The field has moved so far going from our first Nature paper in 1984 showing successful gene transfer into transplantable murine hematopoietic stem cells to the recent drug approvals based on so many investigators’ contributions.

Can you give us a short preview of what you'll be discussing and why it's important for the field?

I will attempt to show the arc of research in my career that has constantly intertwined gene transfer technologies and hematopoietic stem cell biology. This, along with my clinical interest in blood diseases, has allowed successful translation of basic research into human clinical trials, ultimately leading to several advanced phase multi-center trials. This has been possible blending NIH funding, institutional commitments, and biopharma investments, and, critically, a collaborative network that facilitated work in rare diseases.

Learn more about Dr. Williams     View session information

J. Keith Joung, MD, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital + Harvard Medical School
Outstanding Achivement Award

The Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA) recognizes an ASGCT Member who has achieved a pioneering research success, specific high-impact accomplishment, or lifetime of significant contributions to the field of gene and cell therapy. It is the Society’s highest honor. The recipient is celebrated at the Annual Meeting by presenting a keynote lecture highlighting their scientific accomplishments that led to the award.

ASGCT: How do you feel about the chance to present your work at the Annual Meeting as part of receiving this award? What does this acknowledgement of your work mean to you?

JKJ: I’m incredibly honored to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award, which I believe recognizes two decades of scientific contributions from many previous and current members of my lab and our collaborators. It’s also very meaningful to me that this recognition is awarded by the ASGCT, an organization that I have been privileged to be involved with and attend its annual meetings for nearly 20 years.

Learn more about Dr. Joung     View session information

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