MD Anderson physicians, researchers recognized for advancing mission to end cancer

Funded through an endowment established by BOV member Jack Randall and his wife, Beverly, in 2015, the Randall Prize honors creative faculty members who have shown uncommon foresight and ingenuity in the fight against cancer. 

Nicholas Navin, Ph.D., associate professor, Genetics and Bioinformatics, and an Andrew Sabin Family Fellow, is the 2017 recipient of the Randall Prize. Navin, who focuses on understanding genome evolution in human cancers, received the $100,000 cash award for his seminal contributions in single-cell genomics and for groundbreaking research that established single-cell sequencing. 

William B. Finneran, a longtime BOV member, established the Finneran Family Prize in 2013 through a $1 million endowment. Leading faculty members n translational cancer research who apply findings from basic science to effective cancer therapies are eligible for the $50,000 prize.

Burton Dickey, M.D., professor and chair, Pulmonary Medicine, is the latest recipient of the Finneran Family Prize for Translational Research for exceptional productive translational work in lung epithelial biology. Dickey discovered a highly innovative drug to prevent and treat pneumonia, the second leading cause of death in cancer patients after cancer itself, and he is bringing the drug to the clinic. 

Funded through an endowment established by Triple S-Steel/Gary Stein, a BOV member, the Stein family and longtime BOV member Regina Rogers, the Stein Award offers a cash prize for outstanding clinical research by faculty with limited project resources. 

Sinchita Roy-Chowdhuri, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., assistant professor, Pathology, and Simona Shaitelman, M.D., assistant professor, Radiation Oncology, are co-recipients of the 2017 Shirley Stein Scientific Endowed Research Award. 

Roy-Chowdhuri is recognized for research in defining conditions to optimize the use of routine cytological specimens for mutliplex DNA mutation testing. Her findings have improved the likelihood of obtaining a successful molecular test result from a patient's diagnostic pathology material.

Shaitelman is honored for building the Lymphedema Screening Initiative in MD Anderson's Breast Center. Her pioneering work has led to the largest lymphedema screening program for breast cancer patients in the U.S.