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Remembering Peter R. Galbraith (1931 – 2018)
Peter R. Galbraith,
MD, FRCPC
Peter R. Galbraith, MD, FRCPC, an
emeritus professor at Queen’s University
in Kingston, Ontario, passed away on
October 20, 2018.
Dr. Galbraith graduated from Queen’s
University School of Medicine in 1956;
after completing his post-graduate and
subspecialty training in hematology/
oncology in the U.S., he returned to Queen’s
as a clinical assistant. He remained there for his career,
rising to the rank of full professor, with appointments in
the departments of pediatrics and oncology. He was the
founding head of the division of hematology/oncology and
directed the hematology training program at Queen’s for
more than 25 years. Dr. Galbraith also played an instru-
mental role in establishing the chemotherapy unit and the
palliative care services at Kingston General Hospital.
He was one of the founding members of the Canadian
Hematology Society, eventually becoming the president
in 1984. He also was an active member of the American
Society of Hematology (ASH) and served as a councillor on
the Executive Committee.
To honor his legacy, Queen’s University established
the Peter R. Galbraith MD Award for Palliative Education,
which promotes and supports advanced training in pallia-
tive care medicine within hematology and oncology.
Source: Queen’s University.
Remembering Sir David Weatherall (1933 – 2018)
Sir David Weatherall, GBE, FRS, a
clinician-scientist whose researched
focused on the genetics of hemoglobin
disorders, passed away on December
8, 2018.
Prof. Weatherall’s career spanned
nearly
70 years, and he is recognized
Sir David Weatherall,
GBE, FRS
for his contributions to the under-
standing of thalassemia. His work
made early detection of the disorder possible and his
characterization of thalassemia-causing mutations
enabled genetic counselling and, eventually, the eradi-
cation of thalassemia in some parts of the world. With
Nancy Olivieri, MD, FRCPC, he co-founded Hemoglobal,
a nonprofit organization assisting children born with
inherited blood diseases in Asia.
Abramson Cancer Center
Named NCCN Member
Institution
The National Comprehensive Cancer
Network announced that the Abramson
Cancer Center (ACC) of the University of
Pennsylvania will join 27 other U.S. aca-
demic cancer centers as an NCCN Mem-
ber Institution. The ACC’s membership
extends to the Hospital of the University
of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medi-
cal Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, and
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
As a Member Institution, ACC physi-
cians and researchers will work with more
than 1,300 experts from other institutes
to review and update the NCCN Clinical
Practice Guidelines in Oncology.
In the announcement, the NCCN
cited the ACC’s experience in developing
immunotherapies, including chimeric
antigen receptor T-cell therapies.
“[Our] research that has led to four new
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–
approved cancer drugs this year alone,”
said ACC Director Robert Vonderheide,
MD, DPhil. “We’re energized to share
our expertise with NCCN, as well as the
6
ASH Clinical News
He received numerous international honors and
awards through his decades-long career, including
the Lasker Award in 2010. He was named an Honorary
member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH)
and was honored with ASH’s Ham-Wasserman Lecture
in 1986 and the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime
Achievement in Hematology in 2013.
Prof. Weatherall was elected a fellow of the Royal
Society in 1977 and was knighted in 1987. From 1974 to
1992, Prof. Weatherall served as Oxford University’s
Nuffield Professor of Medicine, where he “inspired
several generations of clinicians and scientists to inves-
tigate the molecular basis of human diseases and apply
this knowledge to improve human health,” according to
a press release from the university. He was a professor
of medicine at Oxford from 1992 until his retirement in
2000. During that time, he founded Oxford University’s
Institute of Molecular Medicine, which was renamed the
Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine (WIMM) in
2000.
Professor Doug Higgs, FRS, director of the WIMM,
remembered the institute as “just one part of [Prof.
Weatherall’s] enormous legacy encompassing [his]
unique approach to medicine, science, and mentoring.
For those of us who knew David well, he was the perfect
friend and colleague. He was not only a great physician
scientist, but also erudite and humorous. He will be very
fondly remembered by us all.”
He is survived by his wife, their son, and five grand-
children.
Source: The Guardian; University of Oxford.
chance to collaborate with other Member
Institutions to ensure patients across
the country are receiving the best pos-
sible care.” vessels. With the NCI funding, he plans
to investigate ανβ3 and the role it plays
in tumors becoming resistant to cancer
therapies.
Source: NCCN press release, November 20, 2018. Source: UC San Diego press release, December 7, 2018.
UC San Diego Researcher
Receives $4 Million NCI
Award to Study Cancer Drug
Resistance FDA Names Amy Abernethy
New Deputy Commissioner
David Cheresh, PhD,
distinguished profes-
sor and vice chair of
pathology at University
of California San Diego
School of Medicine, was
granted a $4.2-million
David Cheresh, PhD
National Cancer
Institute (NCI) Outstanding Investigator
Award to support his research of cancer’s
ability to overcome stress, gain drug resis-
tance, and metastasize.
Dr. Cheresh, who also is associate di-
rector of innovation and industry alliances
at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, will
continue his study of biomarkers of angio-
genesis and the molecule ανβ3, a receptor
on the surface of tumor-associated blood
The U.S. FDA has named Amy Abernethy,
MD, PhD, as its Principal Deputy Commis-
sioner for Food and Drugs, which is the
highest position at the agency that is not
a political appointment. Her appointment
will begin in early 2019.
Dr. Abernethy is
chief medical officer,
chief scientific of-
ficer, and senior vice
president of oncology
at Flatiron Health, a
health-care services and
Amy Abernethy, MD,
technology
company.
PhD
Prior to this appoint-
ment, she was a professor of medicine at
Duke University School of Medicine and
led the Center for Learning Health Care in
the Duke Clinical Research Institute and
the Duke Cancer Care Research Program
in the Duke Cancer Institute.
In her role as Principal Deputy Com-
missioner, Dr. Abernethy will oversee of-
fices that handle the regulation of drugs,
medical devices, tobacco, and food.
In an interview with Forbes, she said
that she plans to focus on accelerating
the collection of data to be used in clini-
cal trials. “Historically, patient-defined
concerns were always secondary, and the
question is: How do you make the needs
of the patient the obvious thing that
we’re working on?” she said. “This is not
my chance to solve the set of problems
I think are important. It’s a chance to
spend 100 percent of my time solving
problems that are important for human
health.”
In the announcement, FDA Commis-
sioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, wrote, “She’s
a highly regarded thought leader who
has held numerous positions of leader-
ship in her fields of interest and dis-
tinguished herself for her intellect, her
passion for patient care and science, and
her collegiality.” ●
Source: Forbes, December 17, 2018.
January 2019 Annual Meeting Edition