PHILADELPHIA -- The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) offers a number of grants for cancer researchers at various stages in their careers to foster the development of the most promising scientists. The AACR has newly selected 18 investigators to receive these career development awards and research fellowships, which total commitments of $1,275,000. These investigators, scientists who range in level from postdoctoral fellows to assistant professors, were selected through a rigorous and highly competitive process and will be recognized during the AACR Annual Meeting 2007, to be held April 14-18, 2007, in Los Angeles, Calif.
These awards and fellowships are part of the AACR’s growing grants program. By the close of 2007, the grants program will have committed more than $5 million to outstanding cancer research projects in the U.S. and other countries around the world.
AACR-GERTRUDE B. ELION CANCER RESEARCH AWARD
The AACR-Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award was established in 1993 in honor of the late Nobel Laureate Dr. Gertrude B. Elion, Scientist Emeritus at Glaxo Wellcome Co. and Past President and Honorary Member of the AACR. This award fosters meritorious basic, translational, or clinical cancer research by a tenure-track scientist at the level of assistant professor by providing a one-year grant of $50,000. It is generously sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline. Recipient: Kent W. Christopherson II, Ph.D., Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill. Project: Umbilical Cord Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplant Therapies
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
AACR Career Development Awards were first established in 1999 to provide important transitional support for direct research expenses as researchers move from the ranks of early-career scientists to faculty status.
The AACR-Genentech BioOncology Career Development Award for Cancer Research on Angiogenesis provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Dakun Wang, M.D., Ph.D., University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y.
Project: Biological Function of VDU2 in pVHL-HIF-1-VEGF Pathway and Angiogenesis
The AACR-Susan G. Komen for the Cure Career Development Award for Breast Cancer Research provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Xiaochun Yu, M.D., Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Project: USP11, A Potential Common Regulator in Breast Tumorigenesis
The AACR-PanCAN Career Development Award for Translational Pancreatic Cancer Research, in memory of Seena Magowitz provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Rebekah R. White, M.D., Duke University Medical Center, New York, N.Y.
Project: Prostate Stem Cell Antigen: A Specific Target for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy
The AACR-PanCAN Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in honor of Carole and Bob Daly provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico, M.D., Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
Project: Characterization of the Hedgehog-Interacting Pathways in Pancreatic Cancer
The AACR-PanCAN Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in honor of Ralph H. Hruban, M.D. provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Ben Z. Stanger, M.D., Ph.D., The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
Project: Investigation of the Pancreatic “Ductome”
The AACR-PanCAN Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in honor of Laurie and Paul MacCaskill provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Kimberly A. Kelly, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Mass.
Project: Molecular Imaging Agents for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer
The AACR-PanCAN Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in honor of Nancy Daly Riordan provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Paul J. Grippo, Ph.D., Northwestern University, Chicago, Ill.
Project: Evaluating Kras Oncogene Addiction in Pancreatic Precancer and Cancer
The AACR-PanCAN Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research provides a two-year grant of $100,000.
Recipient: Huamin Wang, M.D., Ph.D., The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Project: Functional Study of Hematopoietic Progenitor Kinase-1 in Pancreatic Cancer
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
The AACR Research Fellowships were established in 1996 in response to the growing need for additional funds to train early career scientists. They are presented to postdoctoral and clinical fellows who are in their first three years of training.
The AACR-AstraZeneca-Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation Fellowship in Translational Lung Cancer Research provides a three-year grant of $90,000.
Recipient: Daniel B. Costa, M.D., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Mass.
Project: Transcription Factors in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Lung Cancer
The AACR-Genentech BioOncology Fellowship for Cancer Research on the HER Family Pathway provides a two-year grant of $70,000.
Recipient: Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, M.D., The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Project: HER2 and Cyclin E: A Novel Interaction in Breast Cancer
The AACR-Amgen, Inc. Fellowship in Clinical/Translational Cancer Research provides a one-year grant of $40,000.
Recipient: Elizabeth C. Chao, M.D., University of California, Irvine, Calif.
Project: DASL-CRC: A Novel Assay to Identify Markers of Metastatic Recurrence
Recipient: Sao Jiralerspong, M.D., Ph.D., The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Project: The Role of LOXL2, GSK-3beta, and Snail in Invasive Breast Cancer
The AACR-MedImmune Fellowship for Research on Biologics-Based Therapies for Cancer provides a one-year grant of $40,000.
Recipient: Hoyoung Maeng, M.D., The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Project: Restoration of Fas Induced Apoptosis in Cancer
The AACR-Bristol-Myers Squibb Oncology Fellowship in Clinical Cancer Research provides a one-year grant of $35,000.
Recipient: Yu Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N.Y.
Project: Targeting the Androgen Receptor via the HDAC Pathway in Prostate Cancer
The AACR-Anna D. Barker Fellowship in Basic Cancer Research provides a one-year grant of $35,000.
Recipient: Xiaoyang Wu, Ph.D., Rockefeller University, New York, N.Y.
Project: Coordinated Cytoskeletal Dynamics and Polarity: Implications in Skin Cancer
The AACR-National Brain Tumor Foundation Fellowship, in memory of Bonnie Brooks provides a one-year grant of $40,000.
Recipient: Donghong Zhao, Ph.D., City of Hope’s Beckman Research Institute, Los Angeles, Calif.
Project: The Role of Hypoxia in Neural Steam Cell Migration to Glioma Cells
The AACR-PanCAN Fellowship for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in memory of Samuel Stroum provides a one-year grant of $35,000.
Recipient: Oliver A. Kent, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
Project: Analysis of MicroRNA Expression and Function in Pancreatic Cancer
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 more than 25,000 basic, translational, and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 70 other countries. 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. AACR publishes five major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Its most recent publication, CR, is a magazine for cancer survivors, patient advocates, their families, physicians, and scientists. It provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship, and advocacy.