Gilbert C. White II, MD, joined Versiti Blood Research Institute (VBRI) in 2004, serving as a senior investigator, Richard H. and Sara E. Aster Chair for Medical Research, and executive vice president and chief scientific officer. His research focused on understanding the signaling pathways that affect platelets, with a goal of controlling vascular diseases like heart attacks and strokes.

During Dr. White’s tenure, VBRI tripled its number of investigators, more than doubled direct research expenditures, doubled research space, more than doubled its number of post-doctoral fellows and graduate students, and more than tripled income from intellectual property. He was also committed to supporting the next generation of scientists, mentoring more than 60 students, fellows and investigators before retiring in 2019.

The summer after her first year in the counseling psychology PhD program at Indiana University, Mary Ferguson had a major stroke. Fortunately, her neurologist took the time to test Mary’s blood for autoimmune factors. This insight led to Mary’s diagnosis of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, a clotting disorder that is often associated with lupus. 

Mary has been under the care of the Versiti hematology team since 2019, when she found herself in the midst of an APS flare, called catastrophic APS. During this time, Mary requested a hematology consult and Versiti’s Lisa Baumann Kreuziger, MD, MS, was on call. Thanks to her experience and knowledge, Dr. Baumann figured out what was going on and recommended a lifesaving course of treatment. 

Mary, her family and her friends are all grateful for the research and support of Versiti clinicians.

Thank you to CSL Behring for its six years of partnership in fighting blood diseases as a lead Imagine Gala sponsor!