ASH Clinical News October 2015 | Page 15

UP FRONT The Society Pages Michael L. Friedland, MD (1942 – 2015) Michael L. Friedland, MD, founding dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, passed away on August 13, 2015. Dr. Friedland’s career included various senior positions in health-care services and administration, serving as dean of the SUNY-Upstate regional campus in Binghamton, New York; both Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Schools of Medicine; and dean of the West Virginia University regional campus in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. 2015 Lasker Award Winners Announced Marking the 70th year of its awards, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation announced the winners of the 2015 Lasker Awards, each of which carries an honorarium of $250,000 for each category. The recipients are: The 2015 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award: Evelyn M. Witkin and Stephen J. Elledge for Discoveries Concerning the DNA-Damage Response Evelyn M. Witkin, PhD, professor emerita at Rutgers Waksman Institute of Microbiology, and Stephen J. Elledge, PhD, professor of Evelyn M. Witkin, PhD genetics at the Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, were honored for research that illuminated the fundamentals of the DNA-damage Stephen J. Elledge, PhD response – a mechanism that protects the genome of all living organisms. Drs. Witkin and Elledge laid the conceptual and experimental foundation that led to an understanding of the systems that ensure genetic fidelity in DNA replication: Dr. Witkin figured out that bacteria respond to DNA damage by triggering multiple protective physiological activities; Dr. Elledge detailed the molecular pathway by which cells in more complex organisms, including humans, detect and respond to deviant DNA structures. The 2015 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award: James P. Allison James P. Allison, PhD, professor and ASHClinicalNews.org chair of immunology at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, was recognized for the discovery and development of a James P. Allison, PhD monoclonal antibody therapy that unleashes the immune system to combat cancer. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Allison and other scientists showed that a protein called CTLA-4 subdues T-cell activation; by suppressing CTLA-4 blocks, Dr. Allison was able to unleash the T cells of the immune system to fight tumors. The findings from this research resulted in new treatments that have prolonged the lives of hundreds of patients with metastatic melanoma, which otherwise kills 50 percent of patients in less than a year. Dr. Allison’s work also introduced a new therapeutic world that capitalizes on the body’s inherent capacity to destroy malignant cells. The 2015 Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award: Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), established in 1971, was recognized for their bold leadership in responding to the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa, and for sustained and effective frontline responses to health emergencies. Source: Lasker Foundation news release Dr. Friedland received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the American Medical Association’s Physician’s Recognition Award on nine separate occasions (most recently in 2001). In a press release, representatives of the College wrote, “[Dr. Friedland] will be fondly remembered by the University family for his numerous contributions in health care and medical education as well as his instrumental role in establishing FAU’s independent medical school.” Iuliana Shapira Named Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center study the genetic basis for myeloma, develop novel viral and immunologic therapies, and optimize the use of existing therapies with a goal of controlling and eventually curing this deadly disease,” said Leif Bergsagel, MD, lead investigator from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, in a press release. Iuliana Shapira, MD, has joined State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center as the chief of the Division of HemaIuliana Shapira, PhD tology and Oncology. Prior to joining Downstate as division chief, Dr. Shapira was associate professor of medicine at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, where she served as director of its Center for Cancer Genetics and Cancer Control and site co-investigator for numerous studies under a Cancer Community Oncology Program (CCOP) grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Source: Mayo Clinic press release Source: SUNY Downstate Medical Center press release Multiple Myeloma Researchers from Mayo Clinic Awarded NCI’s SPORE Grants A team of scientists from the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota, has been awarded a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant in multiple myeloma from the National Cancer Institute. “With project leaders from Mayo campuses in Arizona, Rochester, and Florida, our SPORE team will UC San Diego Cancer Researchers Receive Outstanding Investigator Awards Four researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have received the newly established National Cancer Institute (NCI) Outstanding Investigator Award. The multi-million dollar awards fund new projects that have an unusual potential in cancer research over seven years. The recipients are: • Kun-Liang Guan, PhD, distinguished professor in the Department of Pharmacology, who will receive $5.9 million for his work with mTORC1 and Hippo pathways in cell growth and cancer • Tannishtha Reya, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Medicine, who was awarded $6.3 million for her project on molecular strategies for early detection and targeting of cancer • Jin Zhang, PhD, professor in the Department of Pharmacology, who will receive $6.5 million to evaluate Continued on page 16 ASH Clinical News 13