Nominations Open for 2011 Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research

PHILADELPHIA — The American Association for Cancer Research is currently accepting nominations for the prestigious Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research.

This award, now in its 14th year, recognizes an individual scientist or co-nominated scientists of international renown who have made a major scientific discovery in basic or translational cancer research, and whose ongoing work holds promise for continued substantive contributions to progress in the field of cancer.

The award includes an unrestricted grant of €75,000 and a commemorative plaque.

The recipient of the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research will give a 50-minute lecture at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, which will be held in Orlando, Fla., from April 2 to 6. The award recipient will also present the Sixth Annual Stanley J. Korsmeyer Lecture in Padua, Italy, just prior to the official award ceremony in Trento, Italy, in early May 2011.

Nominations must be submitted online at https://proposalcentral.altum.com no later than 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010.

The Pezcoller Foundation was established in 1980 by Professor Alessio Pezcoller, a dedicated Italian surgeon who made important contributions to medicine during his career. Through Pezcoller’s foresight, vision and generous gift in support of the formation of the foundation, he encouraged others to join this effort in sustaining the work of the foundation. He has inspired scientists around the world to make significant advances in cancer research. In addition to sponsoring this prestigious award, the Pezcoller Foundation also sponsors a series of symposia, publishes a journal and supports awards for early-career scientists from Europe who have submitted highly rated abstracts for presentation at the AACR Annual Meeting.

The 2010 award recipient, Joseph Schlessinger, Ph.D., was honored for elucidating the mechanism of action of receptor tyrosine kinases and their intracellular signaling pathways. His studies have provided the conceptual foundation and paved the way for the discovery of new families of cancer drugs that inhibit receptor tyrosine kinase, including Sutent (sunitinib), a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006 for the treatment of renal cancers and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Further, his work has led to the development of erlotinib (Tarceva) and gefitinib (Iressa), which are epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors used for treating colon and lung cancers, plus imatinib (Gleevec), an inhibitor used for treating patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia or gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

For more information on eligibility criteria, the nomination process and other details about the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research, please visit www.aacr.org/page14329.aspx. Additional inquiries should be directed to Monique P. Eversley at monique.eversley@aacr.org.

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About the American Association for Cancer Research

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 32,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowship and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

About The Pezcoller Foundation

The Pezcoller Foundation is a non-profit organization created in 1980 by Prof. Alessio Pezcoller (1896 – 1993), Chief Surgeon of Santa Chiara Hospital of Trento, Italy. The goal of the Foundation is to promote biomedical research in the field of cancer.

Media Contact:
Michele Leiberman
(267) 646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

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