Cancer Research - Applications Invited For 2009 Landon Foundation-AACR INNOVATOR Awards

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Asbestos / Mesothelioma
Article Date: 20 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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The American Association for Cancer Research, in partnership with the Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation, is accepting applications for grants supporting innovation in cancer prevention research and international collaboration. The deadline for applications is November 20, 2008. The grant terms will begin on July 1, 2009. Landon Foundation-AACR INNOVATOR Award for Cancer Prevention provides a $100,000 two-year grant to promote the rapidly advancing and evolving field of cancer prevention research. This award encourages younger investigators to pursue cancer prevention research in order to sustain the advancement of the field and the development of new thinking. The award is open to scientists at the level of assistant professor who completed postdoctoral studies or clinical fellowships on or after July 1, 2006.
Candidates may conduct research at any institution in the world.

The 2008 winner, Carlo Maley, Ph.D., is exploring fundamental concepts in neoplastic progression, the processes by which normal tissue becomes cancerous. He applied his grant to research detecting genetic diversity in tumor cells to potentially identify which tumors are likely to progress into full-blown esophageal cancer and whether they may be sensitive to preventive therapies. Dr. Maley will present results from his research at the AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Meeting in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, November 18, 2008.

Landon Foundation-AACR INNOVATOR Award for International Collaboration provides a $100,000 two-year grant to promote international cancer research collaboration as an effective means to accelerate progress against cancer. International research collaboration can successfully address the global health problem of cancer through access to unique populations and environments, shared resources and specialized expertise, new concepts and perspectives, innovative methodologies, and emerging technologies.

This award is open to two or more independent researchers working within an established international cancer research collaboration involving institutes in multiple countries.

The 2008 award was presented to Michele Carbone, M.D., Ph.D., and his team of experts in genetics, thoracic oncology, geology, and pathology working in the United States and Turkey. The group discovered a unique mesothelioma epidemic in three Turkish villages and demonstrated that it was caused by a genetic predisposition to mineral fiber carcinogenesis, a gene-environment interaction.

For more information on eligibility criteria, the application process and other details about the Landon Foundation-AACR INNOVATOR Award for Cancer Prevention Research, please visit: www.aacr.org/page 14636.aspx and www.aacr.org/page14637.aspx.

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and 80 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes five major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The AACR's most recent publication and its sixth major journal, Cancer Prevention Research, is dedicated exclusively to cancer prevention, from preclinical research to clinical trials. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors, patient advocates, their families, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy. http://www.aacr.org