AJH Educational Material Women Leaders in Hematology: Inspirations & Insights

Biography. Dr. Carol Kasper is a hematologist and Director Emeritus at the Orthopaedic Hemophilia Treatment Center in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Kasper is well known for her work on the diagnosis and treatment of hemophilia over the past 40 years. During her career, she has held numerous leadership positions within the field, including Vice President Medical of the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), Vice President of the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF), and Chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California. She has received many awards for her work, including two career achievement awards from the NHF (2000 and 2007), the Brinkhous Award for Excellence in Clinical Research (1992), the George F. Davignon Lifetime Professional Achievement Award (2005), and a lifetime achievement award from the Hemostasis & Thrombosis Research Society (HTRS; 2008). Dr. Kasper received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago (1954) before completing her medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco (1959). She then completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology. Dr. Kasper later joined the faculty at the University of Southern California (USC) and became professor emerita in 1999. Over the course of her distinguished career, she has published over 200 scientific papers, monographs, and book articles in the field of hematology. Dr. Kasper currently trains hematology fellows at the Orthopaedic Hemophilia Treatment Center. Q&A Dr. Doris Quon: The first question is: how did you even get involved in medicine? Dr. Carol Kasper: I was always interested in articles on medicine that I read in ordinary magazines, like Time or Newsweek or Reader’s Digest. I realized that I had an interest, but it wasn’t so strong. I knew I just wanted to do something worthwhile. I thought a little bit about the law, and [knew] that I wanted to do something challenging. A lot of my friends and relatives, my parents, thought that medicine would be good for me. And when the kids in the dorm said, “You really ought to be a doctor,” then I thought, “Well, maybe they see something that I haven’t completely seen [in] myself yet.” I was more serious, I think, and they thought that’s what a doctor ought to be. But there was no particular experience that led me to medicine. It was not a highly informed decision. Dr. Quon: Looking back, would you change that? Carol K. Kasper, MD