We are delighted to present the 2020 American Cytogenomic Conference (ACC) Outstanding Service Award to Dr. Debra Saxe. Debra has been an instrumental contributor to the ACC for more than 40 years and, along with her scientific contributions, was the primary driver to incorporate the ACC in 2005. At that time, she helped draft the bylaws of the ACC and put in place a lasting structure which assures the success of the organization. Anyone who has attended ACC meetings knows that Debra has been a presenter, active participant, past-president, organizer, board member, and tremendously valued colleague at virtually every meeting since the 1970s. She co-chaired the 39th Biannual American Cytogenetics Conference at Lake Lanier, Georgia in 2006.
Debra did her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin and then received her M.S. in Genetics from the University of Arizona, under the mentorship of Dr. Oscar Ward, a previous leader of the ACC (at the time it was called the Somatic Cell Genetics Conference). She continued at the U. of Arizona to receive her Ph.D. in Genetics, with an emphasis on hematology/oncology (mentor: Dr. Brian Durie). She did post-doctorate fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh with Drs. Dane and Sallie Boggs, and then moved to the Agouron Institute in La Jolla, CA, to work on mammalian gene mapping under the guidance of Dr. Mary Harper. Debra was Director of Cytogenetics at Molecular Medicine, Inc., in Bethesda, MD, before moving to Atlanta, where she held directorship positions of Cytogenetics and the Anatomical Pathology FISH Laboratory at the Emory Genetics Laboratory and Emory Biomarker Service Center. Dr. Saxe is currently the Medical Director of Oncology Cytogenetics, Emory Medical Laboratories and is Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and adjunct Professor of Pediatrics. When Debra joined Emory, she began a lengthy collaboration with her friend, Dr. Jean Priest, who was the 2006 recipient of the ACC Distinguished Cytogeneticist Award. Dr. Saxe has also been involved in teaching at all levels, including mentoring multiple professionals who are in turn contributing to our field today.
Dr. Saxe has focused her research work not only on hematologic aspects of genetics, but also on constitutional abnormalities and technology, bringing the many critical and valuable molecular techniques to her diagnostic laboratory. She has also been meticulous at discerning and describing G-banding and has brought much-needed consistency to the field regarding band designations. While this award recognizes Debra’s work specifically with the ACC, she has been a valued member of many other regional, national and international genetics societies. Among these, she has served on and co-chaired the College of Pathologists/American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics Cytogenetics Resource Committee, the National Capital Area Cytogenetics Association and the Cancer Genomics Consortium.
While Debra was a student at Arizona, she made genetics a “family affair”, where she met and married Dr. Charles (Karl) Saxe. They have two wonderful daughters, Tamar and Lauryn, and are now also proud grandparents. Debra has successfully managed to balance her career and personal life, and I am sure that all who know her would agree that she is a true joy to be around. I’ve known Debra since she was a graduate student in Arizona, consider her a dear friend, and I am honored to be among the first to congratulate her on achieving the ACC Outstanding Service Award for 2020.
Art Brothman
Awards