The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Names 2004 Recipients of Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction
The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Names 2004 Recipients of Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Clinician-Researcher and Baylor College of Medicine Researcher Receive Komen Foundation's Top Honor at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
San Antonio, Texas - December 2, 2004 - The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, recognized as the nation's leading private source of funding for breast cancer research, has announced the 2004 winners of its most prestigious honor, the Komen Foundation's Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction. The awardees will formally receive the distinction at the Brinker Dinner held during the 27th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), an international cancer meeting December 8-11 at San Antonio's Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center.
Larry Norton, MD, of New York City's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and Daniel Medina, PhD, of Houston's Baylor College of Medicine, are the 2004 recipients of the Brinker Award. The award was established by the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in 1992 to recognize leading scientists whose work significantly advances breast cancer research and clinical applications in research, screening and treatment of the disease. Dr. Norton was recognized for his achievements in clinical science and Dr. Medina was recognized for advancements in basic research.
"Noteworthy advancements made in cancer research, detection, diagnosis and treatment stem from the tireless and visionary efforts of individuals like Dr. Norton and Dr. Medina," said Rebecca Garcia, Ph.D., vice president of health sciences for the Komen Foundation. "The Komen Foundation's Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction is intended to recognize and thank researchers and scientists whose ground-breaking work allows us to understand more about breast cancer, but more important, enables many more women and men to survive the disease than ever before."
Drs. Medina and Norton will deliver the Komen Foundation's Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction plenary lectures on their work during the SABCS December 9 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Exhibit Hall D of the Gonzales Convention Center. All symposium attendees are encouraged to attend the plenary lectures and the Brinker Award Dinner that evening.
Dr. Larry Norton
Larry Norton, M.D., is deputy physician-in-chief and director of breast cancer programs at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He is recognized for his leadership in the advancement of better methods to prevent, diagnose and treat breast cancer, including the development of new drugs, called monoclonal antibodies, which target growth factor receptors. He also was instrumental in the development of ‘dose dense' therapy, a mathematical scheduling model applied to anticancer drugs that results in maximal killing of cancer cells with reduced toxicity to patients.
Dr. Daniel Medina
Dr. Medina is professor of molecular and cellular biology at Baylor College of Medicine. His research focuses on pre-malignant disease of the breast, and upon the essential biological and molecular changes that cause normal mammary cells to progress to pre-malignant and invasive cancer cells. Understanding the changes normal cells undergo on their way to becoming cancerous is critical to the development of ways to stop cancer before it spreads. Dr. Medina has authored more than 260 articles and chapters on the subject.
The Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction
Since its inception in 1992, the Komen Foundation's Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction has been awarded to leading researchers and clinicians involved in the study and treatment of breast cancer, including V. Craig Jordan, Ph.D., who pioneered the use of the drug tamoxifen; Mary Claire-King, Ph.D., whose early research led to the discovery of the BRCA-1 gene; and Leland Hartwell, Ph.D., a cellular biologist and the 2001 Nobel Prize recipient for medicine. The Brinker awardees each receive a $20,000 honorarium and a citation.
