2018 Annual Report

Fellows of the AACR Academy: Leading Progress
Against Cancer

Established in 2013, the AACR Academy recognizes and honors distinguished scientists whose major scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer. Fellows of the AACR Academy serve as a vital resource to AACR leadership, advancing the organization’s mission by providing scientific guidance and a powerful voice in support of sound science policy.

AACR Academy Establishes Governance and Leadership Body

To formalize its advisory and advocacy roles within the organization, the AACR established a governance structure for the AACR Academy in 2018. This leadership body consists of an elected president-elect, who will serve for one year and then transition to a two-year term as Academy president at the AACR Annual Meeting 2019, and six elected Steering Committee members who will serve three-year terms.

The following AACR Fellows are inaugural members of the AACR Academy leadership body:

PRESIDENT-ELECT (2018-2019)
AACR ACADEMY PRESIDENT (2019-2021)

Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH, FAACR


AACR Academy Steering Committee

Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, FAACR
Joan S. Brugge, PhD, FAACR
Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, FAACR
Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, FAACR
Tyler Jacks, PhD, FAACR
Karen H. Vousden, PhD, FAACR


Class of 2018 Induction

At a ceremony on the evening before the Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, the 2018 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy was formally inducted.


Class of 2018

Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS, FAACR

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California

For characterizing the significance of cancer susceptibility genes, notably BRCA2, in the pathogenesis of cancer, and for his contributions to the establishment of PARP inhibitors as effective therapeutic options for the treatment of various cancers.

René Bernards, DPhil, FAACR

Netherlands Cancer Institute
Amsterdam, Netherlands

For establishing innovative strategies to categorize biomarkers of treatment response and effective treatment combinations, and for pioneering the use of genetic screening tests to identify and stratify individuals at risk of developing breast cancer.

Bruce A. Beutler, MD, FAACR

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas

For his discovery of Toll-like receptors and for deciphering the biological mechanisms and signaling events that govern tumor necrosis factor-mediated inflammation and innate immune system activation.

Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, FAACR

City of Hope National Medical Center
Duarte, California

For elucidating the fundamental mechanisms of natural killer cell development and immune surveillance, and for his commitment to advancing cancer health disparities research and promoting the collection and use of clinical samples to guide screening, treatment, and surveillance protocols.

Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, FAACR

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
New York, New York
The Wistar Institute
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For illuminating mechanistic links between the MYC oncogene and cellular metabolism, and for defining how tumor cell utilization of various energy sources contributes to cancer progression.

Dwight Gary Gilliland, MD, PhD, FAACR

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Seattle, Washington

For identifying genetic drivers of various hematologic malignancies including leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, and myeloproliferative disease, and for his contributions to the development of monoclonal antibody-based immunotherapeutics.

Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, FAACR

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts

For her central discoveries in the fields of transcriptional regulation, lymphocyte differentiation, inflammation, and osteobiology, and for her trailblazing efforts to improve access to care, health policy, and medical education.

Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, FAACR

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland

For her groundbreaking efforts dedicated to the development of cancer vaccines and vaccine combinations that bypass tumor-associated immunotolerance, and for exploiting genomic and proteomic technologies to define biomarkers required for cancer onset, progression, and metastasis.

Richard D. Klausner, MD, FAACR

Juno Therapeutics
Los Altos Hills, California

For defining molecular mechanisms of intracellular trafficking, translation, and protein assembly, and for leading the creation of national and international programs to support the spectrum of cancer research, resulting in improved cancer diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Roger D. Kornberg, PhD, FAACR

Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford, California

For his pioneering discovery of the structure and function of nucleosomes, and for revolutionizing the understanding of the molecular machinery and orchestrated mechanisms required for eukaryotic gene transcription.

Arthur D. Levinson, PhD, FAACR

Calico Life Sciences LLC
South San Francisco, California

For his visionary leadership and relentless commitment to the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for the treatment of various malignancies, including HER2/neu monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of breast cancer.

Norman E. Sharpless, MD, FAACR

National Cancer Institute,
Bethesda, Maryland

For his seminal contributions to stem cell biology and to demonstrating the relationship between tumor suppressor activation, cell cycle control, cellular senescence, and molecular aging in tumorigenesis.

Scientific Achievement Awards

Progress against cancer requires innovative thinking and discovery across the full spectrum of research. AACR Scientific Achievement Awards and Lectureships recognize innovative investigators in all fields of inquiry and provide research funding to support their next breakthroughs.

The ability of the AACR Scientific Achievement Awards program to identify paradigm-shifting excellence in cancer research was confirmed in October 2018 when AACR member and former member of the AACR Board of Directors James P. Allison, PhD, FAACR, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his shared discovery with colleague Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation. Before culminating in this recognition by the international scientific community, Dr. Allison’s career was marked by several AACR awards, including:

  • The AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award (2013), for innovative research that stimulates new directions in cancer immunology;
  • The AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award (2014), for outstanding accomplishments in basic cancer research; and
  • The Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research (2015; right), for outstanding basic research that holds promise for continued substantive contributions to progress in the field of cancer.

By honoring exceptional scientists in all scientific areas and at all career stages, AACR Scientific Achievement Awards highlight the critical steps along the path of progress against cancer.

2018 Award Recipients and Lecturers

Twenty-Seventh AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention
Leslie Bernstein, PhD

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Duarte, California

Twenty-Third AACR Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Cancer Research
Johann S. de Bono, MD, PhD

Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden
Sutton, United Kingdom

Twelfth AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research
John A. Katzenellenbogen, PhD

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois

Fifty-Eighth AACR G.H.A. Clowes Memorial  Award
Scott W. Lowe, PhD

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York

Sixth AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology
Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD

Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Center at University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Twelfth Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research
Isaiah J. Fidler, DVM, PhD, FAACR

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

Second AACR-Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer  Research
Pasi A. Jänne, MD, PhD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts

Fifteenth AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research
Joseph R. Bertino, MD, FAACR

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
New Brunswick, New Jersey

Thirteenth AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Memorial Lectureship
John D. Carpten, PhD

University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
Los Angeles, California

Twenty-First Pezcoller-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement In Cancer Research
Tony Hunter, PhD, FAACR

The Salk Institute
La Jolla, California

Twelfth AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship
Lisa M. Coussens, PhD

Knight Cancer Institute
Portland, Oregon

Twelfth AACR Team Science Award

Genomic Approaches to Preventing and Treating Asian-Prevalent Cancers Team

Patrick Tan, MD, PhD

Team Leader
Duke-NUS Medical School
Cancer Science Institute of Singapore
Singapore

Bin Tean Teh, MD, PhD

Duke-NUS Medical School
Cancer Science Institute of Singapore
Singapore

Steven Rozen, PhD

Duke-NUS Medical School
Singapore

Soon Thye Lim, MBBS, MRCP(UK), FAMS

National Cancer Centre Singapore
Duke-NUS Medical School
Singapore

Choon Kiat Ong, PhD

National Cancer Centre Singapore
Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Singapore

Chiea Chuen Khor, MBBS, PhD

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
Singapore

Tatsuhiro Shibata, MD, PhD

The University of Tokyo
National Cancer Center
Tokyo, Japan

Chawalit Pairojkul, MD

Khon Kaen University
Khon Kaen, Thailand

Narong Khuntikeo, MD

Khon Kaen University
Khon Kaen, Thailand

Jacob See-Tong Pang, MD, PhD

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Linkou, Taiwan

Sen-Yong Hsieh, MD, PhD

Chang Gung Memorial Hospital
Linkou, Taiwan

Fourteenth AACR-Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lectureship
Jennifer A. Doudna, PhD, FAACR

University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, California

Twenty-First AACR-WOMEN in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship
Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD

New York University Langone Medical Center
New York, New York

Eleventh AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research, funded by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Ann Partridge, MD, MPH

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts

Ninth AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities, funded by Susan G. Komen
Chanita Hughes-Halbert, PhD

Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina

Eleventh AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research
Zena Werb, PhD

University of Califonia San Francisco
San Francisco, California