The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has granted 14 awards and lectureships to cancer researchers and plans to recognize the recipients at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Dr. Emil J. Freireich
Courtesy MD Anderson Cancer Center
Emil J. Freireich, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, has won the 16th AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research. AACR cited Dr. Freireich’s contributions related to leukocyte and allogeneic platelet transfusions, engraftment of peripheral blood stem cells, and combination chemotherapy approaches in the treatment of childhood leukemia. Dr. Freireich will receive the award during the opening ceremony of the meeting on March 31.
Dr. Raymond N. DuBois
Another award to be given at the opening ceremony is the 13th Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research. Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, will receive the award for his contributions to the “early detection, interception, and prevention of colorectal cancer.” This includes elucidating the role of prostaglandins and cyclooxygenase in colon cancer tumorigenesis and pioneering the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory mediators for cancer prevention. Dr. DuBois will deliver the lecture “Inflammation and Inflammatory Mediators as Potential Targets for Cancer Prevention or Interception” on April 1.
Dr. Jennifer R. Grandis
Jennifer R. Grandis, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, has won the 22nd AACR–Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship. Dr. Grandis characterized the role of EGFR, STAT3, and other signaling pathways in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and used the findings to uncover new treatment options. Dr. Grandis will deliver her award lecture, “Leveraging Biologic Insights to Prevent and Treat Head and Neck Cancer,” on March 30.
Dr. John M. Carethers
John M. Carethers, MD, of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, has won the 14th AACR–Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Memorial Lectureship. Dr. Carethers is being recognized for his work related to DNA mismatch repair, tumor resistance, inflammation, and health disparities in colorectal cancer patients. He will deliver his award lecture, “A Role for Inflammation-Induced DNA Mismatch Repair Deficits in Racial Outcomes from Advanced Colorectal Cancer,” on March 31.
Dr. Susan L. Cohn
Susan L. Cohn, MD, of the University of Chicago, has won the 24th AACR–Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Cancer Research (supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb). She won this award for her work in refining pediatric cancer risk-group classification, making discoveries that changed treatment strategies, and creating computational frameworks that enabled data collection and sharing. Dr. Cohn will deliver her award lecture, “Advancing Treatment Through Collaboration: A Pediatric Oncology Paradigm,” on April 2.
Another awardee to be recognized at the meeting is Alberto Mantovani, MD, a professor at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy, who won the 22nd Pezcoller Foundation–AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research (supported by the Pezcoller Foundation).
Jeffrey A. Bluestone, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, won the 15th AACR–Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lecture (supported by the Irving Weinstein Foundation).
Andrew T. Chan, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, won the Third AACR–Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer Research.
Elaine Fuchs, PhD, of Rockefeller University in New York, won the 59th AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award (supported by Lilly Oncology).
Charles L. Sawyers, MD, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, won the 13th AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship (supported by the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund).
Michael E. Jung, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, won the 13th AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research.
Cornelis J.M. Melief, MD, PhD, of Leiden (the Netherlands) University Medical Center and ISA Pharmaceuticals, also in Leiden, won the Seventh AACR–Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology (supported by the Cancer Research Institute).
Edward L. Giovannucci, MD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, won the 28th AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention (supported by the American Cancer Society).
Melissa M. Hudson, MD, and 15 other researchers from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis won the 13th AACR Team Science Award (supported by Lilly Oncology).
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