Dr. Alberto Mantovani Recognized With 2019 Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research

PHILADELPHIA – The Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research will be presented to Alberto Mantovani, MD, at the AACR Annual Meeting 2019, to be held March 29-April 3 in Atlanta.

Mantovani is being recognized for his work identifying tumor-associated macrophages as mediators of cancer progression, highlighting the role of inflammation and the immune system in tumorigenesis. His research demonstrating the interplay between inflammation and cancer represents a fundamental paradigm shift in the field and has contributed to the emergence and further development of tumor immunology, which forms the basis of new immunotherapy treatments for cancer.

“Dr. Mantovani is an eminent physician-scientist who has been a leader in the field of tumor immunology for decades,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. “His pioneering research showed that macrophages in the tumor microenvironment can promote tumor development, establishing a mechanistic relationship between inflammation and cancer, and providing new opportunities for therapeutic targeting. We look forward to honoring Dr. Mantovani with this year’s Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award.”

Mantovani will deliver his award lecture on Sunday, March 31, from 12:15-1 p.m. at the Georgia World Congress Center in Room A411/412.

The Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award, now in its 22nd year, was established in 1997 to annually recognize a scientist who has made a major scientific discovery in basic or translational cancer research. The awardee must be active in cancer research, have a record of recent noteworthy publications, and be conducting ongoing work that holds promise for continued substantive contributions to progress in the field of cancer.

Mantovani is professor of experimental medicine and pathophysiology at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy. He has been a member of the AACR since 1981 and serves as senior editor of Cancer Immunology Research, a journal of the AACR.

Mantovani has been honored with many other awards throughout his career, including the American-Italian Cancer Foundation Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine (2018), the Scanno Award (2017), the Robert Koch Award (2016), the International Feltrinelli Prize (2016), the NIBIT Award (2016), Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) Prize (2016), the Merck Literary Prize (2016), the Ferrari-Soave International Prize (2015), the Milstein Award for Excellence in Interferon and Cytokine Research (2015), European Society for Clinical Investigation Albert Struyvenberg Medal (2015), the Rosa Camuna Award (2014), William Harvey Award, Outstanding Scientist (2009), Guido Venosta Award for Cancer Research (2004), Marie T. Bonazinga Award (2000), and the Biotec Award (1998).

Mantovani currently serves as president of International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) and is past president of the Italian Society of Immunology and the International Cytokine Society. He has also served on the board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and IUIS. He is a member of Academia Europea (2017), Robert Koch Stiftung (2016), Accademia dei Lincei (2016), the Henry Kunkel Society (2002), and the European Molecular Biology Organization (2000).

Before his tenure at Humanitas, Mantovani was head of the Department of Immunology and Cell Biology at Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche, and professor of general pathology at the School of Medicine at the University of Brescia. He earned his medical degree at the University of Milan and his specialty in oncology at the University of Pavia.