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22nd Annual Award Recipient
Laurence N. Kolonel, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
University of Hawaii
Honolulu, HI
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Dr. Kolonel delivered his award lecture titled
Advancing Epidemiologic Research: Studies in "Special" Populations at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 in Washington, D.C. The award ceremony and lecture was held on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Visit the
AACR Annual Meeting 2013 page for more information.
The Award and Lecture
AACR and the American Cancer Society established this award in 1992 to honor outstanding research accomplishments in the fields of cancer epidemiology, biomarkers and prevention.
The winner of the 22nd Annual AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention received an honorarium of $5,000, gave a 50-minute lecture, and was given support for the winner and a guest to attend the AACR Annual Meeting 2013, in Washington, DC, USA (April 6-10, 2013).
Eligibility
- Candidacy is open to all cancer researchers who are affiliated with any institution involved in cancer research, cancer medicine or cancer-related biomedical science anywhere in the world. Such institutions include those in academia, industry or government.
- The award will be presented to an individual investigator.
- Institutions or organizations are not eligible for the award.
Nomination Procedure and Instructions
Nominations are closed.
Nominations may be made by any scientist, whether an AACR member or nonmember, who is now or has been affiliated with any institution involved in cancer research, cancer medicine or cancer-related biomedical science. Candidates may not nominate themselves.
Selection
Candidates will be considered by a committee of international cancer leaders appointed by the president of the AACR. After careful deliberations by the award committee, its recommendations will be forwarded to the executive committee of the AACR for final consideration and decision. Selection of the award winner will be made on the basis of the candidate's cancer research accomplishments in the fields of epidemiology, biomarkers and prevention. No regard will be given to age, race, gender, nationality, geographic location or religious or political views.
Supporter
Generously supported by the American Cancer Society.
Questions?
Linda Stokes, Program Associate
American Association for Cancer Research
17th Floor, 615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106-4404
awards@aacr.org
SPOTLIGHT
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21st Annual Recipient
Graham A. Colditz, M.D., Dr.PH.
Niess-Gain Professor of Surgery, Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery
Associate Director Prevention and Control, Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center
Deputy Director, Institute for Public Health
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO
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Dr. Graham A. Colditz (center) delivered his award lecture titled Integrating Risk Across the Life Span: The Case of Breast Cancer Prevention, at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012 in Chicago, IL. Dr. Colditz recieved his award from Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society (left) and Dr. Melissa Bondy, AACR Selection Committee co-chairperson (right).
Dr. Graham A. Colditz is honored for his exceptional history, continued outstanding research service, leadership, community engagement and extraordinary mentoring and teaching contributions to translational cancer research. His research has greatly enriched our understanding of cancer etiology and provided key insights that have been widely applied to achieve disease prevention.
Dr. Colditz used prospective data from the Nurses' Health Study to identify the unique effect of current use of postmenopausal hormones on breast cancer. The risk was greatest in women who took the combined estrogen plus progestin hormones for a longer period of time compared to the women who estrogen alone. This result was confirmed in epidemiologic studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). This finding and its confirmation led to estimates that up to 10% of postmenopausal breast cancer was caused by use of combination estrogen plus progestin, as reflected in the decline in breast cancer incidence following the report from the WHI.
After graduating with his DrPH from Harvard School of Public Health in 1986, Dr. Colditz led the daily operation of the Nurses' Health Study for 20 years, serving as PI for 10. His collaborations with breast pathologists confirmed that proliferative benign lesions were markers of subsequent breast cancer risk. He now studies these lesions as endpoints relating childhood and adolescent diet and physical activity to breast cancer risk. Dr. Colditz’s recent work complements his seminal synthesis to focus research on exposures in childhood and adolescence as key intervals for breast cancer etiology and prevention. He developed an adolescent cohort to address diet and physical activity in relation to excess weight gain; and development of benign breast lesions and breast cancer.
With a commitment to identifying preventable causes of chronic disease among women and adolescents, Dr. Colditz continues to study benign breast disease and other markers for risk of breast cancer. Other areas of his expertise include tobacco and obesity in relation to cancer and other chronic diseases. Dr. Colditz developed the award-winning Your Disease Risk website (
www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu) which communicates tailored prevention messages to the public. He has published over 870 peer-reviewed original publications, 140 editorials, book chapters and review articles, six books and contributed to six reports for the Institute of Medicine, National Academies of Health.
Dr. Colditz’s strong commitment to teaching and mentoring is reflected in the development of the first course focusing solely on primary prevention of cancer; and through mentoring numerous investigators. For his research on breast cancer epidemiology and prevention he was awarded an ACS Clinical Research Professorship in 2003; the DeWitt Goodman Lectureship by AACR in 2003, and the ASPO distinguished achievement award in 2004. In 2011, he was awarded the ACS Medal of Honor for cancer control research. He has served as Editor in Chief, Cancer Causes and Control (1998-2006); has served on numerous NIH and NCI peer review committees (including terms as a permanent member of program project and CCSG review committees) and as Chair of Epidemiology of Cancer study section (EPIC), from 2009 to 2011. In October 2006, on the basis of professional achievement and commitment to public health, Dr. Colditz was elected to membership of the Institute of Medicine, an independent body that advises the U.S. government on issues affecting public health.