Deputy Chair for Translational Research;
Professor, Department of Gastrointestinal
Medical Oncology;
Leader, Department of Cancer Center
Support Grant, GI Program;
TRACTION Medical Director
Division of Therapeutics Discovery;
Associate Vice President for Translational Integration
The University of Texas
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
For spearheading the development of novel therapies for patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic colon cancer with poor prognosis. Dr. Kopetz brilliantly developed a clinical program to personalize therapeutic regimens based on genetic profiles ascertained from patient-derived xenografts models that would lead to the finding that KRAS/NRAS mutations can contribute to MAPK pathway inhibition resistance in BRAF mutant cancers. This discovery would result in the establishment of the vemurafenib, irinotecan and cetuximab (VIC) regimen as a standard of care for such patient populations.
In 2017, the AACR instituted the AACR-Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer Research to recognize a worthy cancer researcher who has conducted highly meritorious translational and clinical cancer research anywhere in the world, and who has not yet reached 51 years of age at the time of award presentation. The award was established in recognition of the extraordinary contributions that Hong, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, made to advances in cancer research, cancer care, and cancer prevention during his long-standing and brilliant career as a physician-scientist.
To learn more, please visit the press release.
View Past Recipients.