NEWS

Awards, Appointments, Announcements

The Japanese government awarded The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star to Keiich Suemasu, M.D., former president of the National Cancer Center, Tokyo. The medal is given to a person "who has achieved an extraordinary contribution in many important fields for the nation."

Suemasu served at Japan's NCC for more than 30 years as an attending thoracic surgeon, department chief, director, and president. He also contributed to the U.S.-Japan collaborative studies as a principal investigator.

Aldige Receives Award

The American Association for Cancer Research presented Carolyn Aldige with its Pioneer Award in Cancer Prevention for her major contributions to cancer prevention.



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Carolyn Aldige

 
Aldige is president and founder of the Cancer Research Foundation of America, Alexandria, Va., and was cited for bringing "national attention to the need to enhance scientific research, education, and early detection in the field of cancer prevention."

Takamatsu Prize

Japan's Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund presented the Princess Takamatsu Prize to Prof. Yukihiko Kitamura, and Dr. Satoshi Ebihara. Kitamura is in the Department of Pathology at the Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine and Ebihara is director of the National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba.

The announcement said that the fund's prizes "are awarded every year to Japanese scientists who have made outstanding contributions to fundamental and clinical research on cancer and it is regarded as an esteemed honor in the Japanese research community."

Komen Awards

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Dallas, presented its most prestigious award, the Betty Ford Award, to Harold P. Freeman, M.D., president of North General Hospital in New York, and chairman of the U.S. President's Cancer Panel. The Komen Award of Scientific Distinction went to David Page, M.D., of Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.



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Dr. Harold P. Freeman

 
Freeman was honored for "research showing that poor prognosis for black American breast cancer patients, compared with white, has been a function of socioeconomic factors not biological ones." Page was honored for his "distinguished efforts in the field of benign breast disease and its contributions to the risk of developing breast cancer and his recent work in the understanding of the role of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in calculation of risk of breast cancer."

NCCR Awards

The National Coalition for Cancer Research, Washington, D.C., recently presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Sen. Connie Mack (R-Fla.) and Priscilla Mack for their leadership on a variety of issues related to cancer research and cancer survivorship. Sen. Mack is retiring from the Senate and will leave office in early 2001.



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Sen. Connie Mack

 
NCCR's Congressional Champion Award honored several members of Congress for their abiding support of cancer research. Recipients were Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, (D-Mass.), Rep. Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.), Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio), Rep. John Edward Porter (R-Ill.), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).

The coalition has 23 national lay and professional cancer-related organizations as members. It was founded in 1986 to strengthen the National Cancer Program through public education and communication about the value of cancer research, treatment, and prevention, its announcement said.

Patient Ed Awards

The National Cancer Institute Cancer Patient Education Network presented major awards during its recent annual conference. Recipients were:

Kathryn Conrad, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, received the Distinguished Service Award. Dianne Shaw, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Barbara Giloth, an independent consultant, shared the Gold Star Award. In addition, the CPEN group presented three Excellence awards. One was for a poster developed at the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rochester, Minn. A second was for OncoLink, a web site developed at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. The third was for a patient learning center at the University of Minnesota.

Penn Promoted

The Cure for Lymphoma Foundation, New York, named Ilene Penn as executive director. She had been associate executive director. Penn succeeds Barbara Freundlich, a co-founder of the foundation, who is remaining with the organization as director of strategic development and a member of the board.

The foundation funds research on and provides support and education about Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Head of Pastoral Care

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, named Elizabeth A. Lenegan, Ph.D., as director of pastoral care.

The program she heads provides pastoral services to patients and integrates pastoral care with patient care activities of RPCI's Divisions of Psychology and Social Work.

NCI Names Kreps

The National Cancer Institute appointed Gary Kreps, Ph.D., as chief of the new Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences.

Kreps had been dean and professor in the School of Communication at Hofstra University, New York, and has authored or edited several books on health communication and communication research methods.

Genteric Names Cleary

Genteric, Inc., Alameda, Calif., named Martin D. Cleary president and chief executive officer. He had held the same positions with CardioGene Therapeutics.

The announcement said that Genteric is a privately held biotechnology company "which owns exclusive rights to several novel technology platforms developed at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, Davis.

Vion Names Sznol

Vion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., New Haven, Conn., announced that it named Mario Sznol, M.D., as vice president of clinical affairs, a new position. The company said Sznol will spearhead all of its medical and clinical activities.

Sznol had been chief of the Biologics Evaluation Section of the National Cancer Institute's Investigational Drug Branch, responsible for overseeing the development and clinical evaluation of an array of biologic anticancer agents.

Vion is a biopharmaceutical company developing cancer treatment technologies.

Items in "Awards, Appointments, Announcements" are compiled from notices received by the News section. Not all notices are used; all those used are edited.



             
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