UCLA professor honored for contributions to the field of hematology Dr. Elizabeta Nemeth, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Iron Disorders at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been awarded the 2021 William Dameshek Prize by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for her contributions to the field of hematology. The award recognizes Nemeth for her work in iron metabolism and her contributions to the understanding of iron homeostasis and its dysregulation in many diseases. Nemeth identified IL-6 as the main driver of hepcidin and defined the structural basis of the hepcidin-ferroportin interaction, developed hepcidin-like agonists and delineated the role of hepcidin in innate immunity against gram-negative bacteria. These discoveries have led to the creation of novel diagnostic tools and treatments to improve care for patients with iron disorders, common in clinical practice and global health.