Applications are now open.
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Application deadlines:
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February 27, 2009, at noon EST
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Decision date:
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March 20, 2009
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AACR grants dinner:
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April 21, 2009, Denver, CO
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Start of grant term:
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July 1, 2009
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Award Summary
The AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award is open to tenure-track scientists at the level of Assistant Professor, who completed postdoctoral studies or clinical fellowships no more than five years prior to the start of the grant term. It provides a one-year grant of $50,000 for salary and benefits, laboratory supplies, and limited travel for the grant recipient. Projects may focus on research in cancer etiology, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention (basic, translational, or clinical cancer research).
The recipient of the 2009 Award must attend the 2009 AACR Annual Meeting to accept the award, and is required to give a presentation of his or her research in a minisymposium at the 2010 AACR Annual Meeting.
Program Guidelines & Application Instructions
Applications must be completed online using the proposalCENTRAL website, with one paper copy submitted to the AACR office. Application instructions and program guidelines are available below and on the proposalCENTRAL website.
About Gertrude B. Elion
This Award honors the late Dr. Gertrude B. Elion, Scientist Emeritus at Glaxo Wellcome Co. (now GlaxoSmithKline). Her seminal research at the company revolutionized cancer therapeutics and her prolific contributions to biomedical science earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988. The AACR is extremely pleased to sponsor this award in the name of Dr. Elion, a distinguished Past President and Honorary Member of the AACR.
Generously supported by GlaxoSmithKline Oncology.
Inquiries
Ms. Julia Laurence
Telephone: (267) 646-0655
Fax: (215) 440-9372
E-mail: grants@aacr.org
SPOTLIGHT
2008 Recipient
Davide Ruggero, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Project: Role of IRES-Dependent Translation in Cancer
Dr. Ruggero's research is centered on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which impairments in accurate control of mRNA translation, cell growth, and overall cellular protein synthesis rates lead to cancer. While it is commonly accepted that oncogenic signaling deregulates the transcriptional profile of neoplastic cells, our research has demonstrated a pivotal role for impairments in the translational efficiency of specific existing mRNA species at the post-transcription level towards cancer initiation. Global analysis of the deregulated proteome during cancer formation utilizing novel polysome microarrays pioneered by the Ruggero lab indicates that control of protein production provides a highly specific, robust, and rapid response to oncogenic stimuli. The mRNAs translationally affected encode proteins involved in cell-cell interaction, cell differentiation, signal transduction, and growth control. These findings strongly suggest that a radical shift in the composition of mRNAs associated with actively translating polysomes may lead to an immediate neoplastic phenotype upon an oncogenic lesion. Our research is uncovering that the direct effect on the proteome may serve as common mechanism elicited by multiple oncogenic signals (i.e., PTEN/AKT/TOR, Ras, Myc) to cause cellular transformation and may overshadow the effect on the transcriptosome. The implications of these results will be important in the design of a new generation of compounds that modulate the cellular proteome at the post-genomic level and act as cancer therapeutic agents. "I am honored to receive the 2008 AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award as it will allow me to investigate how the DKC1 tumor suppressor gene, which modifies rRNA, contributes to the cancer susceptibility and pre-mature aging syndrome known as X-linked Dyskeratosis Congenita."