The Oscar D Ratnoff Memorial Lecture
Oscar Ratnoff (1926-2008) was a distinguished physician-scientist who made seminal contributions to our understanding of blood coagulation mechanisms and bleeding disorders. At Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio he conducted many original studies that revolutionized and advanced our field for almost half a century. . His achievements include proposal of waterfall sequence of blood coagulation (with Earl Davie),the discovery of factor XII (Hageman factor) and high molecular weight kininogen (Fitzgerald factor), development of an immunoassay to differentiate factor VIII deficiency and von Willebrand disease, and early recognition of potential danger of contamination with a putative AIDS agent in factor VIII concentrates. He treated his patients exclusively with cryoprecipitates, saving many lives. Throughout his career Ratnoff was also an excellent teacher and a clinician, and trained many fellows. It is for these reasons that the ISTH established a named lectureship in his honor.
The inaugural Ratnoff Memorial Lecture was given at the XXII Congress of ISTH in Boston, 2009.
The Oscar Ratnoff Memorial Lecturers
2009 Philip Hogg
2011 Kenji Kangawa