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Durham, NC – The Society for Translational Oncology (STO) is pleased to announce that Professor Patrick G. Johnston, M.D., Ph.D, Dean of the School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been named recipient of the 2013 Bob Pinedo Cancer Care Prize. The award recognizes Prof. Johnston’s pioneering work in translating discovery science for the benefit of cancer patients. His determination and leadership in establishing a Comprehensive Cancer Care and Research Program in Northern Ireland is testament to his dedication to improving both clinical outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients.
This year’s Pinedo Prize of $50,000 will be presented at the STO Fourth Annual meeting, to be hosted by the VU University Medical Center Cancer Center Amsterdam (VUmc CCA) at the ING House in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 1, 2013. Prof. Johnston will deliver the keynote lecture at the meeting which will be published by The Oncologist, STO’s official journal.
In 2012, the success of his overarching vision was recognized when he was honored to accept a Diamond Jubilee Queen’s Anniversary Prize awarded by Her Majesty, The Queen, for The Queen’s University Belfast-led Comprehensive Cancer Centre and its achievement in reducing cancer mortality rates over the last decade. This significant improvement in cancer outcomes, underpinned by best quality care and innovative research, is a direct result of Prof. Johnston’s philosophy of placing the cancer patient at the center of the cancer care and research agenda.
“I am delighted and humbled to have been awarded The Pinedo Prize,” commented Prof. Johnston. “It is a great honor to have my work and that of my research team recognized by the international cancer research community in this way.”
Prof. Johnston’s research has focused on understanding the cellular signaling pathways in gastrointestinal tumors (with a particular emphasis on colorectal cancer) and using this information as a foundation to identify novel prognostics and diagnostic biomarkers, and molecular targets to rationalize and improve patient care. His many significant papers on both cytotoxic and targeted therapies have expanded knowledge of the treatment of colorectal cancer and provided new insights on mechanisms of drug resistance.
“Patrick Johnston exemplifies the caring and gifted physician and spectacular scientific leader who will carry oncology forward into the age of rational therapeutics,” commented Dr. Bruce Chabner, editor-in-chief of The Oncologist. “Since his early days of training at the National Cancer Institute, he has distinguished himself as a forceful advocate for investigation at the bedside, a commitment that has become the watchword of his stewardship of the Queen’s University medical faculty. His own work in the area of colon cancer biology and treatment sets the highest standard for his colleagues at Belfast and in the international community of cancer research.”
Among his many professional activities, Prof. Johnston is currently on the Cancer Research UK Scientific Executive Board. He is a member of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Strategy Board and Chair of the MRC Translational Research Group. He is a Founder and Director of Almac Diagnostics. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Oncology Scientific Program Committee, Chair of International Academy for Advanced Oncology, Japan, and Board Member of Medical Schools Council UK. As a Senior Editor for The Oncologist, Co-Editor of The Oncologist European Edition, and Co-Chairman of the Society for Translational Oncology, Prof. Johnston advocates for ways to speed the discovery and translation of important new treatments in the field of cancer medicine to the practice of global oncology.
The Pinedo Cancer Care Prize honors Professor H.M. (Bob) Pinedo, founder of the VU University Medical Center (VUmc) Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA), who weds world-class cancer research with a devotion to his patients and their families. In the past seven years, The Bob Pinedo Cancer Care Prize has been awarded to:
• Bruce Chabner, MD – Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
• Joseph Bertino, MD – The Cancer Institute of New Jersey
• Bob Löwenberg, MD – Erasmus University Medical Centre
• Richard O’Reilly, MD – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• José Baselga, MD, PhD – Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center
• Gabriel N. Hortobágyi, MD – The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Richard L. Schilsky, MD – The University of Chicago Medical Center
Nominations for the 2014 Pinedo Prize will be received by email to the Nominating Committee: Pinedo.Prize@STO-online.org until February 1, 2014. All nominations will be evaluated by an international jury.
About the Society for Translational Oncology
STO is a non-profit, tax exempt association whose mission is to speed the discovery and translation of important new treatments in the field of cancer medicine to the practice of global oncology. STO brings knowledge and strategies for critical new developments in cancer treatment to the practice of the community oncologist. For more information, visit: www.sto-online.org.
About The Oncologist
Recognized as a premier peer-reviewed cancer medicine journal, The Oncologist, now in its eighteenth year, is devoted to physicians entrusted with the care of cancer patients. The Oncologist is the official publication of the Society for Translational Oncology. For more information, visit: www.theoncologist.com.
About the Queen’s University Belfast
Ranked in the top one per cent of universities in the world (QS World University Rankings), Queen’s University Belfast was founded in 1845 as Queen’s College Belfast, one of three Queen’s Colleges in Ireland. Queen’s became an independent university in 1908 and is the ninth oldest university in the UK.
Queen’s is a member of the Russell Group of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities. Queen’s places a strong emphasis on international collaboration, forging partnerships with leading research groups throughout the world, including Georgetown University and Lombardi Cancer Centre, Washington; Petronas, Malaysia; a Science Bridge scheme with leading universities in China; and Infosys, one of India’s top technology companies. Priority development areas include health sciences, executive education and green chemistry.
A new £175m Institute of Health Sciences is recruiting the world’s best thinkers, innovators, scientists and clinicians to Queen’s.
For more information, visit: www.qub.ac.uk
For more information, contact:
Gabby Cruze, Executive Director, STO
Tel: (919) 433-0489
gabby.cruze@sto-online.org
Kevin Mulhern, Head of Communications and External Affairs
Tel: +44 (0)28 9097 3259
k.mulhern@qub.ac.uk
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