Waldenström Lifetime Achievement Award

Named for Jan Waldenström, a pioneer in treating blood cancers, the Waldenström Lifetime Achievement Award has been given by the IMS at each International Myeloma Workshop since 1989. This award is given to outstanding researchers in recognition of their long term contributions to the myeloma field.

Recipient Profile

Dr. María-Victoria Mateos, MD, PhD, is Head of Myeloma and clinical trials Unit at the Haematology Department and Professor of Medicine at the University of Salamanca, Spain.
She serves as coordinator of GEM (Spanish Myeloma Group), with direct involvement in the design and development of clinical trials. She has coordinated many clinical trials especially in the setting of transplant ineligible and smoldering myeloma and these trials have profoundly influenced current options for the management of these patient populations.
She has published over 400 papers in international journals with a H index of 96.
She is also a member of the IMWG (International MM Working Group), IMS (International MM Society), EHA and ASH.
She has served on the ASH Scientific Committee on plasma cell diseases between 2015-2019 and on the EHA’s Scientific Program Committee and Advisory Board since 2013 until 2020 being chair of the Scientific Program Committee in 2019.
She has been Councillor on the EHA Board since 2015 for a four-year mandate and she is now a member of the IMS executive board, member of the European School of Haematology (ESH) Scientific committee and member of the ASCO scientific program committee. She received the Briand Durie Award in 2019, the Bart Barlogie Award in 2022 recognizing excellence in myeloma research and the Kyle life time achievement award in 2023. She is the President of the National Society of Hematology since October 2022 for a four-year mandate.

Past Recipients

• 1989 – D. Bergsagel – deceased (April 25, 1925 – October 20, 2007)
• 1991 – R. Kyle
• 1993 – S. Salmon – deceased (May 8, 1936-October 6, 1999)
• 1995 – M. Potter – deceased (February 27, 1924 – June 18, 2013)
• 1997 – R. Alexanian
• 1999 – B. Barlogie
• 2001 – H. Mellstedt
• 2003 – K. Anderson
• 2005 – J-L Harousseau
• 2007 – J. San Miguel
• 2009 – B. Durie
• 2011 – W. M. Kuehl
• 2013 – N. Munshi
• 2015 – M. Attal
• 2017 – M. A. Dimopoulos
• 2019 – G. Merlini
• 2021 – S. Vincent Rajkumar
• 2022 – P. Sonneveld
• 2023 – S. Jagannath
• 2024 – T. Facon
• 2025 – MV. Mateos