ISTH names Denisa Wagner and Robert L. Medcalf as 2025 Outstanding Mentor Awardees

The International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) is pleased to recognize Denisa Wagner, Ph.D., and Robert L. Medcalf, Ph.D., as the recipients of its Outstanding Mentor Awards.

The ISTH launched the Outstanding Mentor Awards in 2024 to recognize individuals who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to cultivate and mentor early career professionals in the thrombosis and hemostasis field. The award underscores the crucial role of mentorship in advancing scientific excellence and fostering professional growth within the global thrombosis and hemostasis community.

Denisa Wagner is a Senior Investigator for the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, and also the Edwin Cohn Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, at Harvard Medical School in the U.S. Wagner’s expertise focuses on vascular biology, inflammation and thrombosis.

She oversees The Wagner Lab, which studies how blood cells respond to injury or stressful situations and initiate defensive or reparatory processes. The Wagner Lab is currently studying the role of inflammation in NETosis and neutrophil function. Among her many accomplishments, Wagner received the ISTH Robert P. Grant Medal in 2015, which is the Society's highest honor.

“It has been the greatest pleasure of my career as a professor to interact with and mentor my students and postdoctoral fellows in research and discovery,” Wagner said. “The vast majority have gone on to highly successful scientific careers and are now based all over the world, with some already in leadership positions.”

Robert L. Medcalf is a Professor at Australia’s Monash University and Co-Founder of the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases. His research focuses on the fibrinolytic system, with a particular interest on thrombolysis and the broader role of tPA in other areas.

Medcalf served as President of the ISTH 2019 Congress and he also a received of the ISTH Esteemed Career Award in 2024. He previously served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (JTH).

“Mentorship has been an integral part of my career, starting in 1986 when I completed a post-doctoral position in Lausanne, Switzerland, under Professor Wolf-Dieter Schleuning,” Medcalf said. “Since then, I have been proud to supervise many Ph.D. and Honors students, collaborating closely with each student to grow their expertise and help cultivate their career.”

Learn more about the ISTH Outstanding Mentor Awards at www.isth.org/page/mentorawards.