One of the three scientists receiving the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry is a former American Cancer Society research grantee, bringing the number of Nobel Laureates among the Society’s funded researchers to 44. Thomas A. Steitz, Ph.D., of Yale University received two multi-year grants from the American Cancer Society between 1983 and 1997 totaling more than $1 million. Dr. Steitz has also mentored two post-doctoral researchers (Carl Correll, Ph.D. 1993-1995 and Virginia Rath, Ph.D, 1992-1995). He was honored today along with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England and Ada E. Yonath of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, for describing the ribosome and its function. Earlier this week, former American Cancer Society research grantee Jack W. Szostak of the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass., was a co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
The 44 Society-supported researchers who have won the prize since 1946 is a record that is unmatched in the non-profit arena. This research into understanding an underlying mechanistic cause of cancer will also continue to inform the area of cancer detection and diagnosis as well as treatment. The American Cancer Society investment in cancer research facilitates the research advances and also is amplified by the training impact of future professionals who will contribute more cancer research discoveries.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
American Cancer Society Researcher Among Nobel Prize Winners
Award Means 43 Society Funded Researchers Have Received the Honor
One of the three scientists receiving the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine received an American Cancer Society research grant early in his career, bringing to 43 the number of Nobel Laureates among the Society’s funded researchers.
Former American Cancer Society research grantee Jack W. Szostak, Ph.D., of the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass., is a co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and Carol W. Greider of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. They were recognized for their discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Their work described the function of telomeres, which reside on the end of chromosomes and are often compared to the plastic tips at the end of shoe laces that prevent them from unraveling, and the enzyme telomerase, which adds DNA to the tips of chromosomes to replace genetic material that has eroded away. Their groundbreaking research in the late 1970s and early 1980s identified the potential that telomerase might be manipulated for therapeutic purposes to prolong cell life and combat cancer. The discoveries have had an impact not only on cancer research but also on research into aging and other diseases.
Dr. Szostak received an American Cancer Society grants early in his career, before the profound implication of their work would become clear. He was supported by an American Cancer Society project grant for $125,000 between 1981 and 1983 while at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for “Mutants of Yeast Deficient in Mitotic Recombination.”
In addition, all three recipients have mentored American Cancer Society grantees. Dr. Szostak was a mentor to American Cancer Society grantee Grant R. Zimmermann, Ph.D. (1998-2000). Dr. Blackburn has been a mentor to five American Cancer Society researchers: Bradley A. Stohr, M.D., Ph.D. (2005-2008), Jeffrey J. Seidel, Ph.D. (2003-2006), David Gilley, Ph.D. (1993-1995), Karen E. Kirk, Ph.D. (1992-1995), and Dorothy Shippen, Ph.D. (1989-1991). Dr. Greider was the mentor to grantee Alyson A. Kass-Eisler, Ph.D . (1996 -1999).
Dr. Blackburn also received the American Cancer Society Medal of Honor, the Society's highest honor, in 2001.
“The American Cancer Society’s research department has long recognized the importance of funding promising grants by scientists early in their careers,” said Elizabeth “Terry” T.H. Fontham, M.P.H., Dr.P.H., national volunteer president of the American Cancer Society. “The high honor Dr. Szostak received today is a proud reminder of the strength of the Society’s peer-review process and the credibility of its research grant program. The work of his that the Society began funding more than three decades ago is now recognized as having enormous potential to help us achieve a world with more birthdays, and inspires us to continue our investment in cancer research by training future professionals who will contribute more cancer research discoveries.”
One of the three scientists receiving the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine received an American Cancer Society research grant early in his career, bringing to 43 the number of Nobel Laureates among the Society’s funded researchers.
Former American Cancer Society research grantee Jack W. Szostak, Ph.D., of the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass., is a co-winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and Carol W. Greider of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. They were recognized for their discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase. Their work described the function of telomeres, which reside on the end of chromosomes and are often compared to the plastic tips at the end of shoe laces that prevent them from unraveling, and the enzyme telomerase, which adds DNA to the tips of chromosomes to replace genetic material that has eroded away. Their groundbreaking research in the late 1970s and early 1980s identified the potential that telomerase might be manipulated for therapeutic purposes to prolong cell life and combat cancer. The discoveries have had an impact not only on cancer research but also on research into aging and other diseases.
Dr. Szostak received an American Cancer Society grants early in his career, before the profound implication of their work would become clear. He was supported by an American Cancer Society project grant for $125,000 between 1981 and 1983 while at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for “Mutants of Yeast Deficient in Mitotic Recombination.”
In addition, all three recipients have mentored American Cancer Society grantees. Dr. Szostak was a mentor to American Cancer Society grantee Grant R. Zimmermann, Ph.D. (1998-2000). Dr. Blackburn has been a mentor to five American Cancer Society researchers: Bradley A. Stohr, M.D., Ph.D. (2005-2008), Jeffrey J. Seidel, Ph.D. (2003-2006), David Gilley, Ph.D. (1993-1995), Karen E. Kirk, Ph.D. (1992-1995), and Dorothy Shippen, Ph.D. (1989-1991). Dr. Greider was the mentor to grantee Alyson A. Kass-Eisler, Ph.D . (1996 -1999).
Dr. Blackburn also received the American Cancer Society Medal of Honor, the Society's highest honor, in 2001.
“The American Cancer Society’s research department has long recognized the importance of funding promising grants by scientists early in their careers,” said Elizabeth “Terry” T.H. Fontham, M.P.H., Dr.P.H., national volunteer president of the American Cancer Society. “The high honor Dr. Szostak received today is a proud reminder of the strength of the Society’s peer-review process and the credibility of its research grant program. The work of his that the Society began funding more than three decades ago is now recognized as having enormous potential to help us achieve a world with more birthdays, and inspires us to continue our investment in cancer research by training future professionals who will contribute more cancer research discoveries.”
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