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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and its Minorities in Cancer Research membership group will award Gabriel N. Hortobagyi with the Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, held in Washington, D.C., April 6-10.
Hortobagyi is professor of medicine in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology and holds the Nellie B. Connally chair in breast cancer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His award presentation and lecture, “Dual Targeting for Endocrine Therapy of Breast Cancer,” will take place on Sunday, April 7 at 4:15 p.m. ET in Ballroom C in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
“I’m humbled by the AACR and the Minorities in Cancer Research group. To be recognized for furthering the advancement of minority investigators in cancer research is truly an honor,” Hortobagyi said. “All of us share a mutual dedication to breast cancer care and feel that there has never been a more exciting time for the field.”
The AACR-MICR Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship was established in 2006 to give recognition to an outstanding scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research and who has, through leadership or by example, furthered the advancement of minority investigators in cancer research.
Hortobagyi is known for his role in advancing novel agents for the treatment of breast cancer and also for his mentorship of minority investigators. Many of his key publications have been first-authored by minority junior investigators, showing his commitment to their development.
The lectureship is named in honor of Jane Cooke Wright, M.D., a pioneer in clinical cancer chemotherapy and an exceptional scientist who has made important contributions to research in this field, and who recently passed away at the age of 93. Wright, a member of the AACR since 1954, became the highest ranking black woman at a nationally recognized medical institution in 1967, at a time when there were only a few hundred black, female physicians in the United States. She attended the AACR Annual Meeting each year since the lectureship’s establishment in order to provide opening remarks and introduce the year’s lecturer. She was elected this year into the inaugural class of the Fellows of the AACR Academy. For more information on Wright, please visit www.aacr.org/JCW_Memoriam.
“I had the distinct pleasure of knowing Jane Cooke Wright. Her myriad scientific contributions and unwavering commitment to mentoring young scientists, especially African-American women, are still impactful in cancer research and the community at large,” Hortobagyi said.
Hortobagyi is an AACR member who has served on the editorial board of Clinical Cancer Research, as co-chair of the Research Grant Review Committee and as a member of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Komen Award Committee and the Clinical Research and Experimental Therapeutics Awards Committee.
He has received many honors throughout his career, including the Brinker International Award for Clinical Research, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Horizon Scientific Award and the Glen Robbins Award in Breast Cancer Research from the New York Cancer Society and the Metropolitan Breast Cancer Group. Last year, he received the Jill Rose Award from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the William L. McGuire Award at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Additionally, Hortobagyi was named the 2005 World Leader in Oncology from the Mexican Society of Oncology and Chevalier of the Order of la Legion d’Honneur de France by President Jacques Chirac. He is also a past-president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
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About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes eight peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of team science and individual grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
Media Contact:
Lauren Riley
(215) 446-7155
lauren.riley@aacr.org
In Washington, D.C.,
April 6-10, 2013:
(202) 249-4005
