Daniel Von Hoff, MD, Physician-In-Chief of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is the first recipient of the Lori Groetken Memorial Lecture and Award presented recently at Washington University in St. Louis. He delivered his lecture “A Relentless Molecular Pursuit Approach to Take Out Pancreatic Cancer,” at the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis.
“I am extremely honored and humbled to be the first recipient of the Lori Groetken Memorial Lecture, and I look forward to the opportunity to present this lecture and discuss how we can make advances together against this terrible cancer,” said Dr. Von Hoff.
The lecture and award is in memory of Lori Groetken, a pancreatic cancer patient who fought the disease for 2 years. She and her husband, Cecil, were at the forefront of raising funds for pancreatic cancer research at the Siteman Cancer Center. The annual lecture series in her name has been created to recognize individuals whose research makes substantial contributions to the field of pancreatic cancer research.
Contributions to Drug Development
Dr. Von Hoff has contributed to the development of numerous anticancer agents, including paclitaxel, docetaxel, irinotecan and gemcitabine. He also is the Chief Scientific Officer of TGen’s clinical trials at Scottsdale Healthcare’s Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, Chief Scientific Officer at US Oncology, Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
Dr. Von Hoff founded the Pancreatic Cancer Research Team (PCRT), an international network of clinical trials sites organized under TGen Drug Development (TD2), a TGen subsidiary. PCRT represents a consortium of 45 highly experienced investigators and clinics from across the United States and Europe, dedicated to finding a cure for pancreatic cancer, which is the nation’s 4th leading cause of cancer death. ■
