MD Anderson president elected to top cancer research academy

Ron DePinho, M.D., president of MD Anderson Cancer Center, will be inducted as a new fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy. He joins 10 other cancer leaders as new inductees in the prestigious academy, which recognizes those who've made significant contributions to cancer research.

All fellows are nominated and elected through a rigorous peer-review process conducted by existing AACR members and ratified by its executive committee. This process involves an assessment of each candidate on the basis of his or her scientific achievements in cancer research and cancer-related biomedical science.

“Our 2015 class of fellows includes eleven luminaries in the cancer research field, in honor of the eleven founders of the AACR in 1907,” said Margaret Foti, M.D., Ph.D., AACR chief executive officer. “We’re delighted to recognize the incredible scientific accomplishments of these illustrious researchers and celebrate how their dedicated efforts have helped accelerate the pace of progress against many of the hundreds of diseases we collectively call cancer.”

According to the AACR, this “brain trust” of global leaders in cancer research offers invaluable insight into the future of cancer research and patient care, and continues to work with the AACR in its mission to prevent and cure all cancers.

“Dr. DePinho’s outstanding work in basic and translational research in cancer, aging and age-associated degenerative disorders has been internationally recognized,” said The University of Texas System Chancellor William H. McRaven. “His selection as a member of this notable academy is further testament to his significant contributions to cancer science.”

DePinho joins seven other MD Anderson faculty members who’ve previously been named to the academy. They are James Allison, Ph.D., Isaiah Fidler, Ph.D., D.V.M., Emil Freireich, M.D., Waun Ki Hong, M.D., V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D., Margaret Kripke, Ph.D., John Mendelsohn, M.D., and Louise Strong, M.D.

Other members of the AACR Academy’s 2015 class of fellows are:

• Kenneth C. Anderson, M.D., director, Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
• Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D., director, Center for Cancer Targeted Therapies; director, Breast Cancer Program; and associate director for Clinical Research, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.
• Anton J.M. Berns, Ph.D., senior group leader, Division of Molecular Genetics, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam; director, Skoltech Center for Stem Cell Research, Moscow
• Bruce A. Chabner, M.D., director of clinical research, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
• Susan D. Desmond-Hellmann, M.D., chief executive officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle
• Robert N. Eisenman, Ph.D., member, Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
• Douglas R. Lowy, M.D., deputy director, Center for Cancer Research; chief, Laboratory of Cellular Oncology; and head, Signaling and Oncogenesis Section, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
• Carol L. Prives, Ph.D., Da Costa professor, Columbia University, New York
• Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., chief of surgery, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
• Craig B. Thompson, M.D., president and chief executive officer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York

The AACR will formally induct its 2015 class of elected fellows at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015, which will be held April 18-22 in Philadelphia.