Sherrill Slichter is an American physician whose work on platelet biology earned her transfusion medicine’s three highest honors: the AABB Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award; International Society of Blood Transfusion Presidential Award; and the British Blood Transfusion Society James Blundell Award.
Education
Slichter earned her M.D. from George Washington University. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, and her fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Washington, where she stayed on faculty.
Career
In her early work, Slichter measured survival and turnover of platelets and fibrinogen. She characterized three types of bleeding problems: platelet and fibrinogen consumption, selective platelet destruction, and fibrinolysis. Slichter studied the performance of laboratory tests of platelet function such as the bleeding time. She showed that in patients with artificial heart valves, platelets were consumed by interaction with the valves proportionately to the surface area of the valve. In patients with immune thrombocytopenia, Slichter infused radiolabeled autologous platelets and measured platelet-associated immunoglobulin levels. She found that prednisone improved platelet counts primarily by increasing platelet production, whereas splenectomy prolonged platelet survival. Slichter's work helped establish the utility of single-donor apheresis platelets and the appropriateness of platelet transfusion in various clinical settings. Slichter was the lead author on the Trial to Reduce Alloimmunization to Platelets (TRAP) study, which evaluated the utility of leukoreduction and ultraviolet irradiation for reducing platelet refractoriness. She was also lead author on the Optimal Platelet Dose Strategy for Management of Thrombocytopenia (PLADO) trial, which evaluated bleeding outcomes to determine the optimal frequency and dose of platelet transfusion for patients undergoing chemotherapy. She continued to study how platelet dose, source (apheresis vs pooled), donor-recipient ABO compatibility, and duration of storage impacted bleeding outcomes in adults and children.
Slichter titled her autobiography Path of Persistence: Gender Trailblazer and Platelet Pioneer. In it, Slichter described how she became a "world-renowned platelet pioneer, and a trailblazer for women in medicine" while researching how to extend the shelf-life of platelets, from cold stored to freeze-dried.
Works
Path of Persistence: Gender Trailblazer and Platelet Pioneer, Bloodworks Northwest, 2017. ISBN 978-0692867945
Awards
- America's Blood Centers Thomas F. Zuck Lifetime Achievement Award, 2018
- American Society of Hematology Henry M. Stratton Medal, 2017
- American Association of Blood Banks Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award, 1998
- International Society of Blood Transfusion Presidential Award, 2008
- British Blood Transfusion Society James Blundell Award, 2011
References
- Harker, L. A.; Slichter, S. J. (1972-11-16). "Platelet and fibrinogen consumption in man". The New England Journal of Medicine. 287 (20): 999–1005. doi:10.1056/NEJM197211162872001. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 4675535.
- Harker, L. A.; Slichter, S. J. (1972-07-27). "The bleeding time as a screening test for evaluation of platelet function". The New England Journal of Medicine. 287 (4): 155–159. doi:10.1056/NEJM197207272870401. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 4537519.
- Harker, L. A.; Slichter, S. J. (1970-12-10). "Studies of platelet and fibrinogen kinetics in patients with prosthetic heart valves". The New England Journal of Medicine. 283 (24): 1302–1305. doi:10.1056/NEJM197012102832402. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 5478451.
- Gernsheimer, T.; Stratton, J.; Ballem, P. J.; Slichter, S. J. (1989-04-13). "Mechanisms of response to treatment in autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura". The New England Journal of Medicine. 320 (15): 974–980. doi:10.1056/NEJM198904133201505. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 2927480.
- Schiffer, C. A.; Slichter, S. J. (1982-07-22). "Sounding board: Platelet transfusions from single donors". The New England Journal of Medicine. 307 (4): 245–248. doi:10.1056/NEJM198207223070410. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 7088074.
- Slichter, Sherrill J. (2013-05-09). "Eliminate prophylactic platelet transfusions?". The New England Journal of Medicine. 368 (19): 1837–1838. doi:10.1056/NEJMe1302974. ISSN 1533-4406. PMID 23656650.
- Slichter, Sherrill J. (2013-08-08). "Prophylactic platelet transfusion". The New England Journal of Medicine. 369 (6): 577–578. doi:10.1056/NEJMc1307163. ISSN 1533-4406. PMID 23924011.
- Trial to Reduce Alloimmunization to Platelets Study Group (1997-12-25). "Leukocyte reduction and ultraviolet B irradiation of platelets to prevent alloimmunization and refractoriness to platelet transfusions". The New England Journal of Medicine. 337 (26): 1861–1869. doi:10.1056/NEJM199712253372601. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 9417523.
- "ClinicalTrials.gov". ClinicalTrials.gov. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- Slichter, Sherrill J.; Kaufman, Richard M.; Assmann, Susan F.; McCullough, Jeffrey (2010-02-18). "Dose of prophylactic platelet transfusions and prevention of hemorrhage". The New England Journal of Medicine. 362 (7): 600–613. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0904084. ISSN 1533-4406. PMC 2951321. PMID 20164484.
- Slichter, Sherrill J. (2011). "New thoughts on the correct dosing of prophylactic platelet transfusions to prevent bleeding". Current Opinion in Hematology. 18 (6): 427–435. doi:10.1097/MOH.0b013e32834babf4. ISSN 1531-7048. PMID 21946073.
- Triulzi, Darrell J.; Assmann, Susan F.; Strauss, Ronald G.; Ness, P. M.; Hess, John R.; Kaufman, Richard M.; Granger, Suzanne; Slichter, Sherrill J. (2012-06-07). "The impact of platelet transfusion characteristics on posttransfusion platelet increments and clinical bleeding in patients with hypoproliferative thrombocytopenia". Blood. 119 (23): 5553–5562. doi:10.1182/blood-2011-11-393165. ISSN 1528-0020. PMC 3369689. PMID 22496156.
- Josephson, Cassandra D.; Granger, Suzanne; Assmann, Susan F.; Castillejo, Marta-Inés (2012-07-26). "Bleeding risks are higher in children versus adults given prophylactic platelet transfusions for treatment-induced hypoproliferative thrombocytopenia". Blood. 120 (4): 748–760. doi:10.1182/blood-2011-11-389569. ISSN 1528-0020. PMC 3462047. PMID 22538854.
- "Sherrill Slichter, MD, director of the Bloodworks Northwest platelet transfusion research Slichter laboratory, has published an autobiography in association with the center where she spent most of her career". America's Blood Centers: 12. June 30, 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- Slichter, Sherrill J.; Fitzpatrick, Lynda; Osborne, Barbara; Christoffel, Todd (2019). "Platelets stored in whole blood at 4°C: in vivo posttransfusion platelet recoveries and survivals and in vitro hemostatic function". Transfusion. 59 (6): 2084–2092. doi:10.1111/trf.15302. ISSN 1537-2995. PMID 30977914.
- Barroso, Jeffrey; Osborne, Barbara; Teramura, Gayle; Pellham, Esther; Fitzpatrick, Michael (2018). "Safety evaluation of a lyophilized platelet-derived hemostatic product". Transfusion. 58 (12): 2969–2977. doi:10.1111/trf.14972. ISSN 1537-2995. PMC 6301028. PMID 30450601.
- "ABC Announces the 21st Annual Awards of Excellence Winners". February 9, 2018. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- "ASH Selects Outstanding Trainees for Award Programs, Honorific Award Winners, and more". ASH Clinical News. 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- "The American Society of Hematology Honors Josef T. Prchal, MD, and Sherrill J. Slichter, MD, with the 2017 Henry M. Stratton Medal". Hematology.org. 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- "List of Past AABB Awards Recipients". www.aabb.org. 2024-08-05. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- "ISBT Awards and Prizes". ISBT Awards and Prizes. 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
- "Past winners". BBTS. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2024-11-08.