Four honorees received the Hope Funds for Cancer Research Award of Excellence, recognizing outstanding achievement in basic research, drug development, medicine, patient support, and philanthropy. The awards were presented at the Award of Excellence Gala. The awardees are:
* Robert G. Roeder, PhD, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Rockefeller University, who made the initial discovery of RNA polymerases and identified the enzymes' helper factors, the general transcription machinery;
* Joan Elaine Argetsinger Steitz, PhD, the Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, who discovered the exact sequences on mRNA at which bacterial ribosomes bind to produce proteins and went on to identify snRNPs and defined their role in splicing;
* Napoleone Ferrara, MD, Distinguished Professor of Pathology at the University of California, San Diego, who discovered the angiogenic protein VEGF and made the first VEGF antibody that suppresses growth of a variety of tumors, which led to the first clinically available anti-angiogenesis inhibitor drug, bevacizumab (Avastin); and
* James F. Holland, MD, Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who-along with National Cancer Institute colleagues-was credited as the first to use combination chemotherapy in patients to successfully treat acute leukemia.
George Wilding, MD, is the new Vice Provost for Clinical and Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a position he started on September 1. He will oversee strategic planning, conduct, approval, and regulation of all clinical research conducted at MD Anderson and its global operations. He will also provide oversight and academic leadership for multidisciplinary research institutes.
Wilding's work has focused on genitourinary cancers, particularly prostate cancer. In addition to his administrative appointment, he will serve as a Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at MD Anderson. His research investigates the role of androgen-induced oxidative stress in prostate carcinogenesis and cancer progression.
"His servant leadership approach and many other talents, including deep strategic thinking and thoughtfulness, will contribute substantially to our efforts to build upon our incredible foundation of critical clinical research advances," Ethan Dmitrovsky, MD, MD Anderson Provost and Executive Vice President, said in a news release.
Before his current role, Wilding had served on MD Anderson's external advisory board and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program. He was also the Donald and Marilyn Anderson Professor of Clinical Oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Director Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center.
Carrie Kitko, MD, has joined Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University as Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Program in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. She was previously Assistant Professor of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program in the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at the University of Michigan School of Medicine.
"She is a wonderful, experienced clinician who will provide state-of-the-art, compassionate care to our patients and families. She will bring new and innovative treatments and clinical trials, many of which will be unique in our region. Furthermore, she is an internationally recognized expert in graft-versus-host disease [GVHD]," Debra Friedman, MD, Director of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and E. Bronson Ingram Professor of Pediatric Oncology at Vanderbilt, said in a news release.
Kitko's work has focused on understanding GVHD, which she will continue at Vanderbilt. She will be the primary investigator on a national multicenter clinical trial investigating extracorporeal photopheresis for the treatment of pediatric acute GVHD and plans to have the study open for patients at Vanderbilt, as well as start a clinic focused on GVHD treatment.
Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation has awarded Young Investigator Grants to 21 pediatric oncology researchers. The grants-$100,000 each over two years-are intended to help young researchers pursue innovative projects at leading hospitals and institutions across the country. The recipients are:
* Rikhia Chakraborty, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine;
* Robin Parihar, MD, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine;
* Bradley Blaser, MD, PhD, of Children's Hospital Boston;
* Robyn Sussman, PhD, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia;
* Tovah Day, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
* Shuning He, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
* Andrew Hong, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
* Ting Tao, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
* Leo Wang, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
* Abhinav Dey, PhD, of Emory University;
* Sumit Gupta, MD, PhD, of Hospital for Sick Children at University of Toronto;
* Daniel Herranz, MD, of Institute for Cancer Genetics in New York City;
* Stacy Cooper , MD, at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine;
* Ramin Dubey, PhD, of Stanford University;
* Ozlem Aksoy, PhD, of University of California San Francisco;
* Zhenyi An, PhD, of University of California San Francisco;
* Elliot Stieglitz, MD, of University of California San Francisco;
* Catherine Flores, PhD, of University of Florida;
* Challice Bonifant, MD, PhD, of University of Michigan;
* Genevieve Kendall, PhD, of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; and
* Jessica Linda Heath, MD, of University of Vermont.
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah has received National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center designation. The designation recognizes outstanding cancer research, training, and public outreach programs, as well as the depth and breadth of research in each of the three major cancer research areas: laboratory, clinical, and population-based research. The designation also recognizes HCI for the impact of its research findings on national cancer care guidelines and improved patient outcomes.
HCI is the only cancer center to have the designation in the five-state Intermountain West region of Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Nevada.
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