Komen News: Mission Awards luncheon
MISSION AWARDS LUNCHEON
The Komen Foundation's Sixth Annual Mission Conference
Delivering the Promise - Monday, June 9, 2003
Emcee: Andre Showell, Black Entertainment Television
Keynote Speaker: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
The Mission Awards luncheon was held to recognize and celebrate selected individuals who carry out the Komen Foundation's mission either by conducting research or by carrying forth Komen's 20-year grassroots tradition of reaching out into local communities with much-needed breast health education, screening and breast cancer treatment options.
The Komen Foundation believes that to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease, we need to go about it in two very important ways: By investing in research that will help future generations; and by helping to meet the immediate breast health needs of women and men.
The Komen Foundation was honored to have Justice Sandra Day O'Connor deliver the keynote address at the Sixth Annual Komen Mission Conference Awards Luncheon. Justice O'Connor shared her personal experience as a breast cancer survivor. She explained that she had approached this time in her life the same way she approaches her decision-making as a Supreme Court Justice. She learned all she could about the subject, made her decision based upon that information and then never looked back. She acknowledged the importance of the support of her husband and close friends during this difficult time. She mentioned that her breast cancer experience gave her a greater appreciation of her family and friends and concluded that there is life after breast cancer.
Since 1982, Komen has made 850 grants totaling more than $110 million - most of them in the last five to six years. Through the funding of fellowships and training grants, this year the Komen Foundation presented lab coats to 19 Komen Fellows at the luncheon: 6 Post-doctoral Fellows, 10 Dissertation Fellows and 3 Interdisciplinary Breast Fellows:
Wendy Blakely, RN, MN - John Hopkins University School of Nursing
Anees Chagpar, MD - University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Anirban Datta, PhD - University of California, San Francisco
Dennis Dolmans, MD, PhD - E.L. Steele Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital
Ron J. Feldman - Medical University of South Carolina
Louise Flanagan, PhD - University of Notre Dame
Rena Kass, MD - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Paraic Kenny, PhD - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Pranay D. Khare, PhD - Mayo Clinic Rochester
Ethan Kohn - Dartmouth Medical School
Rakhshanda Layeeque, MD - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Jennie Maglione - University of California, San Diego
Mia Markey, PhD - University of Texas, Austin
Quintin Pan, PhD - University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
Ellen D.S. Lopez
Faina Nakhlis, MD - Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center
Lance Thomas - Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Lorna Whyte, B.Sc - University of Notre Dame
Bin Xie - Georgetown University
Glendon Zinser - University of Notre Dame
Also recognized at the luncheon was a group of Komen Affiliates who have delivered extraordinary educational outreach programs in their communities. Click here to read more about the Komen Foundation's new Education Honor Roll.
Return to list of selected topics from the 2003 Mission Conference
