Cutting Edge Cancer Researchers Sought for International Recognition

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 24 Jul 2004 - 4:00 PDT

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American Association for Cancer Research Accepting Nominations for 2005 Landon-AACR Prizes for Basic and Translational Cancer Research

Nomination Deadline: Tuesday, August 10, 2004

PHILADELPHIA - The American Association for Cancer Research now is accepting nominations for the fourth annual Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation-AACR Prizes.

These two major international prizes recognize seminal basic and translational cancer research discoveries at the cutting edge of scientific novelty and significance. Eligible candidates are active, recently published scientists who have made extraordinary advances in cancer research, and whose scientific innovation and creativity have contributed to new directions in these fields.

The nomination process and other details about the prizes are located on the AACR Web site at www.aacr.org. The nomination deadline is Tuesday, August 10, 2004.

The recipient of each prize will receive an unrestricted cash award of $200,000. Both will present lectures during the 96th AACR Annual Meeting, April 16-20, 2005, in Anaheim, Calif., to stimulate and inspire their colleagues to new thinking and fresh approaches in both basic and translational cancer research.

"The Landon-AACR Prizes offer an unprecedented opportunity to recognize the best work of the top cancer research scientists today," said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. "We are honored to work with the Landon Foundation in sponsoring these distinguished prizes.

R. Kirk Landon, President of the Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation, said, "It is the goal of the foundation to bring heightened public attention to landmark achievements in the continuing effort to prevent and cure cancer. The dynamic lectures given during the AACR Annual Meeting are the perfect forum for promoting and rewarding outstanding cancer research and for motivating cancer investigators around the world. The Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation has been delighted with our synergistic partnership with the AACR and looks forward to honoring the accomplishments of scientists in the years to come."

Past winners of the Kirk A. Landon-AACR Prize for Basic Cancer Research are:

2004:
Tony Hunter, Ph.D.
Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
La Jolla, Calif.

2003:
Charles J. Sherr, M.D., Ph.D.
Co-Chair, Department of Genetics & Tumor Cell Biology
Co-Director, Molecular Oncology Program
Herrick Foundation Chair
St. Judes Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tenn.
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

2002:
Robert N. Eisenman, Ph.D.
Member, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Seattle, Wash.

Past winners of the Dorothy P. Landon-AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research

2004:
Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D.
Hortense B. Ingram Professor of Molecular Oncology and associate director for cancer
prevention, control and population-based research
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, Tenn.

2003:
Dennis J. Slamon, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program
University of California, Los Angeles Jonsson Cancer Center
Los Angeles, Calif.

2002:
Elwood V. Jensen, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor, Department of Cell Biology
Vontz Center for Molecular Studies
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

and

V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D.
Diana, Princess of Wales Professor of Cancer Research
Professor of Cancer Pharmacology
Professor, Molecular Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry
Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
Director, Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Research Program,
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chicago, Ill.

The Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation was created through a bequest from Mrs. Landon who willed that her estate be committed to medical research, especially cancer research and research into cancer-related diseases. R. Kirk Landon, son of Kirk A. Landon, serves as chairman of the Foundation's Board of Trustees. The Foundation accomplishes its mission through a variety of programs and initiatives, the first of which were the Landon-AACR Prizes.

Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is a professional society of more than 22,000 laboratory and clinical scientists engaged in basic, translational, and clinical cancer research in the United States and over 60 other countries. The AACR's mission is to accelerate the prevention and cure of cancer through research, education, communication, and advocacy.

Its principal activities include the publication of five major peer-reviewed scientific journals (Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention). The AACR's Annual Meeting attracts more than 15,000 participants who share new and significant discoveries in the cancer field, and the AACR's specialty meetings throughout the year focus on all the important areas of basic, translational, and clinical cancer research.

Contact:
Elizabeth J. Tait
Phone: 215/440-9300 Ext. 144
E-mail: tait@aacr.org