THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) presented Special Recognition Awards to the following four individuals whose work has made extraordinary contributions to the AACR’s mission to accelerate the prevention and cure of all cancers through research, education, communication, and collaboration at the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting.
Anna D. Barker, PhD, received the 2018 AACR Distinguished Award for Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Science Policy and Advocacy. Dr. Barker is Director of the National Biomarker Development Alliance; Director of Transformative Healthcare Knowledge Networks; Co-Director of Complex Adaptive Systems; and Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.
C. Kent Osborne, MD, received the 2018 AACR Distinguished Award for Extraordinary Scientific Achievement and Leadership in Breast Cancer Research. Dr. Osborne is Director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine, where he is also Professor and the Dudley and Tina Sharp Chair for Cancer Research. Since 1992, he has been Co-Director of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Dr. Osborne’s own research has focused on improving the effectiveness of endocrine and HER2-targeted therapies in patients with breast cancer.
Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, FAACR, received the 2018 AACR Distinguished Award for Extraordinary Scientific Innovation and Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Research and Biomedical Science. Dr. Sharp is Institute Professor and faculty member at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. A world leader in molecular biology and biochemistry, he won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his co-discovery of RNA splicing. He was elected as an inaugural Fellow of the AACR Academy in 2013.
Col. James E. Williams received the AACR 2018 Distinguished Public Service Award for Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Advocacy. Mr. Williams, a retired Army Colonel who served during the Vietnam War, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991. After he was cured of the disease, he embarked on an effort to educate men about the disease. His advocacy efforts include serving as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the AACR’s Cancer Today magazine; serving as Chairman of the Board of the Intercultural Cancer Council; serving as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Prostate Cancer Coalition; participating on the Patient Advocacy Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology; and serving as a board member of the Alliance for Prostate Cancer Prevention. ■
