ALEXANDRIA, VA USA (Press Release) - March 15, 2013 - Seventeen leaders in oncology are to be recognized for their dedication to improving the lives of people living with cancer. Among the awardees are the director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a scientist belonging to the group that performed the first genome-wide association study of BRCA2 breast cancer.
Each year through its Special Awards Program, ASCO recognizes researchers, patient advocates, and leaders of the global oncology community who, through their work, have made significant contributions to enhancing cancer care. These recipients of ASCO’s highest, most prestigious awards collectively represent significant strides in cancer treatment and leadership in the oncology community.
“The recipients of this year’s awards are the past, present and future of our field,” said Michael P. Link, MD, Immediate Past President of ASCO and Chair of the Special Awards Selection Committee. “They have contributed tremendously to the body of work that is improving the treatment and care of people with cancer. It is our honor to bestow these awards upon them.”
The 2013 Special Awards Honorees are:
David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award and Lecture
Martine J. Piccart, MD, PhD, is a professor of oncology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and director of medicine at the Jules Bordet Institute, Brussels, Belgium. Dr. Piccart is a leader in international breast cancer research collaboration and drug development, and serves as the principal or co-principal investigator for numerous clinical trials. She is co-founder and chair of the Breast International Group (BIG), uniting 49 academic research groups from around the world and running more than 30 trials under its umbrella. She has received numerous prestigious awards for her research contributions and is the current president of European Society for Medical Oncology and president-elect of the European CanCer Organization. She is also a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Science of Oncology Award and Lecture
Charles L. Sawyers, MD, is head of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, where he works to bring molecularly targeted approaches and molecularly based patient stratification to clinical trials and patient treatment more broadly across tumor types. His laboratory is investigating how prostate cancers progress to castration resistance. Their first breakthrough came from studies of isogenic castration-sensitive and castration-resistant xenografts, where they found that increased androgen receptor expression was both necessary and sufficient to confer resistance. Dr. Sawyers is President-elect of the American Association for Cancer Research and past President of the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and serves on the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Councilors. He is also a Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.
ASCO-American Cancer Society Award and Lecture
Kenneth Offit, MD, is chief of the Clinical Genetics Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a member of the Program in Cancer Biology and Genetics at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, and a professor of Medicine and Public Health at the Weill College of Medicine of Cornell University. In 1996, his research group discovered the most common genetic mutation associated with inherited breast and ovarian cancer, occurring among Jews of European ancestry. Dr. Offit’s lab also discovered or described recurrent mutations causing increased risk for colon and prostate cancer. In 2002, his group was the first to prospectively measure the impact of preventive ovarian surgery in individuals carrying BRCA mutations. In 2010, his group performed the first genome-wide association study of BRCA2 breast cancer and he is currently using next-generation sequencing to define genomic markers of risk for leukemia, lymphoma, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.
B.J. Kennedy Award and Lecture for Scientific Excellence in Geriatric Oncology
Arti Hurria, MD, is a geriatrician and oncologist, focusing on care of the older patient with cancer and current serves as the director of the Cancer and Aging Research Program at City of Hope. She is also chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Senior Adult Oncology Panel, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Geriatric Oncology, and vice co-chair of the Alliance Cancer in the Elderly Committee. Dr. Hurria serves as principal investigator on a grant that seeks to identify and develop research methodology that will lead to evidence-based recommendations to improve clinical care for older adults with cancer. She also serves as principal investigator on a grant evaluating clinical and biological predictors of chemotherapy toxicity in older adults with breast cancer. These grants are executed in collaboration with members from the Cancer and Aging Research Group, which Dr. Hurria founded and leads. Dr. Hurria is also a former grant recipient of the Conquer Cancer Foundation and a graduate of the ASCO Leadership Development Program.
Distinguished Achievement Award
Eduardo L. Cazap, MD, PhD, is the founder and first president of the Latin American and Caribbean Society of Medical Oncology (SLACOM), the immediate past president of the International Union against Cancer (UICC), and the recently designated deputy chair of the Developing Countries Task Force of the European Society of Medical Oncology. Dr. Cazap’s leadership has helped push cancer and world health into the international political agenda. In 2011, largely due to the work of the UICC and other international cancer organizations, the United Nations held an unprecedented high-level meeting on cancer and other noncommunicable diseases. Dr. Cazap served as co-chair of the United Nations Civil Society Task Force to advise the President of the United Nations General Assembly during this meeting. In September 2010, Dr. Cazap was designated by the Argentinean government as a member of the Executive Board of the newly created National Cancer Institute of Argentina.
Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award and Lecture
Larry Norton, MD, is the deputy physician-in-chief for Breast Cancer Programs, and medical director of Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). He is the founding incumbent of the Norna S. Sarofim Chair of Clinical Oncology at MSKCC and a professor of medicine in the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Dr. Norton has dedicated his life to the eradication of cancer by activities in medical care, laboratory and clinical research, advocacy, and government. He was a U.S. presidential appointee to the National Cancer Advisory Board—the board of directors of the National Cancer Institute—serving as chair of the Budget Subcommittee. Dr. Norton is a founder of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and is currently its scientific director. He has served on or chaired numerous committees of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Norton is a Past President and a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. His personal research has focused on the use of medicines to treat cancer and he has been involved in the development of several effective agents including paclitaxel and trastuzumab.
Humanitarian Award
Bella Kaufman, MD, is a leading clinician as well as a dedicated breast cancer researcher. Since 2001, she has headed the breast cancer unit at The Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, which is affiliated with Tel Aviv University. She is a founder and leader of the Israeli Consortium for Hereditary Breast Cancer. In addition to being published extensively, Dr. Kaufman sits on various committees that consult and advise the Ministry of Health as well as the Israeli parliament on key issues affecting oncology-related health policy. She was formerly the secretary of the Israeli Breast Group and is currently a member of the Israeli Cancer Association’s research committee and steering committee. A long-time volunteer, she is currently a board member for nongovernmental organizations that promote the right to health equality and providing medical assistance at Physicians for Human Rights-Israel’s clinics with special attention to underserved cancer patient populations. She goes beyond her daily patient work to care for the underserved populations in her region such as the recent influx of the African refugees to Israel and the Palestinian villages of the West Bank.
Partners in Progress Award
Howard R. Soule, PhD, is executive vice president and chief science officer at the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), the leading philanthropic organization in funding and accelerating prostate cancer research globally. Since its creation in 1994, the PCF has greatly increased both funding for and awareness of prostate cancer. Dr. Soule’s role in the Prostate Cancer Foundation has greatly contributed to the Foundation’s success in accelerating international research and in increasing public awareness of the disease. He coordinates global academic, government, and biopharmaceutical sector research activity and is responsible for the implementation of the PCF's global research strategies. Dr. Soule is a senior fellow of the Milken Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank and is also a member of the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Integration Panel.
Pediatric Oncology Award and Lecture
Garrett M. Brodeur, MD, is an associate chair for research in the Department of Pediatrics, and an associate director of the Abramson Cancer Center in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds the Audrey E. Evans Endowed Chair in Pediatric Oncology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The goal of his research is to identify the genes, proteins, and pathways responsible for the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma and to develop therapeutic approaches that target these pathways. He is actively investigating the role of CHD5, which encodes a neural-specific chromatin remodeling protein, in regulating neuroblastoma growth and differentiation, as well as its interaction with MYCN. He is also currently exploring nanotechnology approaches for the targeted delivery of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, as well as conventional agents.
Public Service Award
Richard Pazdur, MD, is the director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This office was formed in 2005 to consolidate the review of drugs and therapeutic biologics for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer as well as the review of drugs and therapeutic biologics for hematologic diseases and for medical imaging. Dr. Pazdur’s position facilitates coordination of oncology activities across all FDA centers and ensures an ongoing outreach and collaboration between FDA, the National Cancer Institute, and other cancer-related organizations within and outside of the government. Dr. Pazdur was the director of the Division of Oncology Drug Products from September 1999 to May 2005. Prior to joining the FDA, Dr. Pazdur was professor of medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Special Recognition Award
Otis W. Brawley, MD, FACP, is chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. He serves as a professor of hematology, oncology, medicine, and epidemiology at Emory University. Over a career that has encompassed clinical practice, research, and public policy, Dr. Brawley has championed the American Cancer Society’s initiatives in tobacco cessation, nutrition, early detection of cancer, and whole-patient care, as well as efforts to eliminate disparities in access to quality cancer care. Dr. Brawley is a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women. He has previously served as co-chair of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Task Force on Cancer Health Disparities and assistant director of the National Cancer Institute, among other appointments.
Fellows of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO)
The Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO) distinction recognizes ASCO members for their extraordinary volunteer service, dedication, and commitment to ASCO. Their efforts benefit ASCO, the specialty of oncology, and, most importantly, the patients for whom they serve. The 2013 recipients of this distinction are:
Stephen A. Cannistra, MD
Michael A. Carducci, MD
Eduardo L. Cazap, MD, PhD
Martin J. Murphy, DMedSc, PhD
Joan H. Schiller, MD
George W. Sledge Jr., MD
Everett E. Vokes, MD
All of the awards listed above will be presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting taking place in Chicago, May 31 – June 4 at McCormick Place, with the exception of the Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award and Lecture, which will be presented at the 2013 Breast Cancer Symposium, taking place September 7-9 in San Francisco, California.
For a list of the specific dates and room locations of the awards presentations, please contact Kate Blackburn at .
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
[ PRESS RELEASE ]
