The CASL-CLF Sass-Kortsak Award

It takes a special person with kindness, compassion and sensitivity to provide care for children living with liver disease. By all accounts, this was the kind of man Dr. Andrew Sass-Kortsak was through and through.

A world-renowned expert on Wilson’s disease, Dr. Sass-Kortsak of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto was celebrated throughout his career for his work ethic and dedication as a doctor. His colleagues also recognized how wonderful it was to work with him. This, in particular, played a key factor in his efforts to recruit other liver specialists to join the CLF’s Medical Advisory Committee; a group he established and led to help review all research applications for CLF-awarded grants and designate funding for public support programs to areas of the greatest need.

After his death in 1986, the CLF and the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL), created the posthumous CASL-CLF Sass-Kortsak Award to recognize outstanding achievements in research and science in pediatric hepatology. We are proud to offer this award which embodies Dr. Sass-Kortsak’s spirit of caring for children with liver disease.

In 1990, the first CASL-CLF Sass-Kortsak Award was awarded to Dr. Irmin Sternlieb, a major figure in Wilson’s disease research that led to the discovery of a cause and treatment for the disease. Since then, the award has been presented every two years to 14 worthy recipients.

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