Who's New

Jay R. Harris, MD, will present the Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award lecture at theupcoming 2008 ASCO Breast Cancer Symposium being held September 5-7 in Washington DC. Dr. Harris is professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School. The lecture he will present in accepting the award is entitled “Local treatment of breast cancer: Looking backward to gaze forward.”

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis has been designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is the first and only such center solely focused on pediatric cancer to receive this designation. The nonscientific requirements for comprehensive status are education and community outreach, and St. Jude has a long history of significant efforts in both of these areas. The cancer center is headed by Michael Kastan, MD, PhD.

M. Steven Piver, MD, a renowned ovarian cancer expert, is being honored by the establishment of the M. Steven Piver, M.D. Center for Women’s Health & Wellness, planned for a 2009 opening in Buffalo, New York. It will locate all outpatient women’s services at Sisters Hospital in a comprehensive, holistic, patient-centered setting. The Piver Center, inspired by the lifetime of clinical care provided to thousands of women by Dr. Piver, is possible through the generosity of a leadership gift given in Dr. Piver’s honor by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Perella.

Gail L. Gamble, MD, a Mayo Clinic physician, has been appointed medical director of the Cancer Rehabilitation Program of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. As one of the first in the nation to provide cancer rehabilitation more than a decade ago, RIC is expanding its Cancer Rehabilitation Program to focus on changing the face of cancer care though the integration of rehabilitation medicine with oncology care that enables cancer survivors to regain better functional ability and attain the best quality of life.

Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, part ofthe National Institutes of Health, has announced his intention to step down on August 1 to explore writing projects and other professional opportunities. Dr. Collins, a physician-geneticist, has served as NHGRI’s director since April 1993. He led the Human Genome Project to its successful conclusion in 2003. Alan E. Guttmacher, MD, the current deputy director of NHGRI, will be appointed acting director.

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation has awarded $2.25 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Indiana University, and the University of Michigan through its Proteomics Initiative, a multiyear research commitment. “The MMRI Proteomics Initiative will employ cutting-edge proteomic technologies to analyze myeloma patient tissue samples and identify biomarkers that are responsible for the disease’s onset and progression, as well as patients’ response to treatment,” said Louise Perkins, PhD, MMRF director of research.

Hyman B. Muss, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, was given the B.J. Kennedy Award for Scientific Excellence in Geriatric Oncology at ASCO 2008. Dr. Muss is also co-chair of the Cancer in the Elderly Working Group for the NCI’s Cancer and Leukemia Group B. Dr. Muss has devoted his career to the study of breast cancer in older women. He presented a lecture entitled “Olderwomen with breast cancer: The silent majority.”

Joseph R. Bertino, MD, received the Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Achievement at ASCO 2008 at the President’s Dinner, for his dedication to cancer research and scientific inquiry, as well as his exceptional record of service to the Society. He is interim director of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and professor of medicine and pharmacology at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Dr. Bertino’s investigation of mechanisms of resistance to drugs such as methotrexate(Drug information on methotrexate) has garnered him numerous accolades.

Larry E. Kun, MD, chair of the Department of Radiological Science at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and professor of pediatrics and radiology at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, received the 2008 Pediatric Oncology Award at ASCO 2008. A dedicated research scientist, his studies focus on radiation therapy and the functional outcomes of pediatric cancers. Dr. Kun presented a lecture in conjunction with his award entitled “Clinical investigation: The standard of care for children and adolescents with central nervous system tumors.”