Clara D. Bloomfield

Clara Derber Bloomfield (May 15, 1942 – March 1, 2020), was an American physician and cancer researcher. Her work focused on the genetic changes that are present in certain types of blood cancers, and how those can be utilized to improve treatment for the affected patients.

Education Clara D. Bloomfield graduated from University Laboratory High School in 1959, earned her B.A. from the San Diego State College (San Diego, California) in 1963, and earned her M.D. from the University of Chicago in 1968. She completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Chicago and a fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Minnesota. She was also involved in describing the rearrangement of chromosome 16q22 in acute myeloid leukemia. In 1973, Bloomfield showed that older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a group often excluded from intensive chemotherapy, could tolerate intensive treatment, helping change assumptions about treating elderly AML patients.

Bloomfield co-authored the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues, and the European LeukemiaNet (ELN) guidelines on diagnosis and management of acute myeloid leukemia.

Personal life In 1984, Bloomfield was married to Albert de la Chapelle, a geneticist and professor in the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at Ohio State University and discoverer of XX male syndrome.

Death Bloomfield died on March 1, 2020, aged 77, after an accident in Columbus, Ohio.

Honors and awards Bloomfield was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 2000. In 2011, she was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also was an elected member of the Association of American Physicians and an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Among the awards Bloomfield received during her career are: The Joseph H. Burchenal Clinical Research Award from the American Association for Cancer Research (2004) The Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Achievement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (2006) The Henry M. Stratton Medal from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (2008) The David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from ASCO (2009). The Giants of Cancer Care(R) Award in Myeloid Neoplasms (2015) Margaret Kripke Legend Award (2016)