Kenneth Cooke, MD, has been named Director of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center's Pediatric Marrow Transplantation Program, as well as Professor of Oncology and Pediatrics and the Herman and Walter Samuelson Chair in Oncology. He was most recently at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.
Also at Kimmel Cancer Center, Mark J. Levis, MD, PhD, has been named Director of Leukemia within the Hematologic Malignancies and BMT Program. He has been on the Kimmel faculty since 2002.
David Lane, PhD, has been named Scientific Director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. In the new role, which commenced last month, Lane will coordinate Ludwig's global research efforts and activities.
"Beyond his pioneering discoveries in cancer research, Professor Lane brings seasoned leadership in heading scientific laboratories in academia and the private sector, as well as valued frontline experience in the challenges of moving discoveries from the laboratory into the clinic," Ludwig President and CEO Edward A. McDermott, Jr., said in a news release.
Lane's research led to the discovery of the p53 tumor suppressor protein and his current work focuses on controlling the protein and identifying targets for new cancer therapies that could restore normal function. He currently serves as Chief Scientist of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology, and Research and will retain this appointment along with the new Ludwig role. He succeeds Andrew Simpson, PhD, who was Ludwig's Scientific Director for five years.
Michael A. Thompson, MD, PhD (@mtmdphd), has joined Aurora Health Care as a medical oncologist in the Aurora Cancer Care program and Medical Director of the Early Cancer Research Program in Patient-Centered Research at the Aurora Research Institute in Wisconsin. Thompson, who blogs for ASCO Connection and was featured in one of OT's Profiles in Oncology Social Media (9/25/12 issue), has been part of the NCI Community Cancers Centers Program Clinical Trials committees, including the Early Phase Working Group, and has served on ASCO's Integrated Media and Technology Committee.
Patrick (Paddy) Johnston, MD, PhD, Professor and Dean of the School of Medicine in Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, has been named the recipient of the 2013 Bob Pinedo Cancer Care Prize to recognize pioneering work in translating discovery science for the benefit of cancer patients. The $50,000 prize will be presented at the Society for Translational Oncology's Fourth Annual meeting in October, where Johnston will deliver the keynote lecture.
His research has focused on understanding the cellular signaling pathways in gastrointestinal tumors (with a particular emphasis on colorectal cancer) to identify novel prognostics, diagnostic biomarkers, and molecular targets. He has previously received a Diamond Jubilee Queen's Anniversary Prize for his role in establishing The Queen's University Belfast-led Comprehensive Cancer Centre and its achievement in reducing cancer mortality rates over the last decade.
Colleen Villamin, CPHT, OCN, RN, an oncology nurse in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has received the 2013 Ethel Fleming Arceneaux Outstanding Nurse-Oncologist Award from the Brown Foundation, Inc.-the institution's highest nursing honor, which includes a $15,000 prize. She recently helped launch the Individualized Care Planning Initiative in MD Anderson's Stem Cell Unit.
"The former winners have changed the history of nursing at MD Anderson. These are tremendous shoes to fill," Villamin said in a news release. "It was a very high goal for me to become a nurse here because I thought this would be where I could give the most."
Harry Rozmiarek, DVM, PhD, Director of the Laboratory Animal Facility at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has received the Nathan Brewer Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. It is only the third time in the College's history that the lifetime achievement award has been presented. ACLAM was chartered in 1957.
Also at Fox Chase, Anna Marie Skalka, PhD, the W.W. Smith Chair in Cancer Research there, has received the Distinguished Research Career Award from the Center for Retroviral Research at Ohio State University to recognize "seminal contributions to the field of retrovirology and the mechanism of integration."
ACS Celebrates 100 Years with Awards to Volunteers
The American Cancer Society has recognized the following five individuals for their distinguished achievements in the fight against cancer. The awards were given at the ACS's 100th Volunteer and Staff Birthday Summit in May.
* Anna R. Giuliano, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of South Florida, received the Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Award for her cancer research efforts, which focus on the human papillomavirus and cancer. She is a member of the medical advisory panels for the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, as well as the founding Director of the Center for Infection Research in Cancer at Moffitt Cancer Center.
* R. Sean Morrison, MD, Director of the National Palliative Care Research Center and Director of the Hertzberg Palliative Care Research Center, also received the Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Award. He is also Professor of Palliative Medicine in the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and has served as President of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
* Carmel J. Cohen, MD, Professor of Clinical Gynecology and Obstetrics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, received the National Volunteer Leadership Award. He has been President of the New York Obstetrical Society, the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, and the Society of Pelvic Surgeons; is a founding member and council member of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society; and is currently Scientific Chair of the Board of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
* Eric W. Taylor, MD, a radiation oncologist at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland, Wash., also received the National Volunteer Leadership Award to recognize his nearly three decades of volunteer work with ACS. His volunteer commitment to the ACS was also recognized in 1995 with the St. George National Award and in 2008 with the Cancer Action Network Volunteer Award for Excellence in Advocacy.
* Edward E. Partridge, MD, Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, received the Humanitarian Award. As a gynecologic oncologist, he has focused his work in reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in underserved populations and research in cervical and ovarian cancer. He is also co-founder of the Alabama Partnership for Cancer Control in the Underserved, and his efforts have resulted in Alabama's participation in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. In more than 30 years as a volunteer, he has been President of the ACS's Alabama Division and Chair of the Mid-South Division, and a member of the Society's Board of Directors since 2003. Partridge is also Chairman of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines Committee and was past Chairman of the Commission on Cancer for the American College of Surgeons.
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