July 2019 - Hope Funds Honors Top Cancer Researchers

July 2019 - Hope Funds Honors Top Cancer Researchers

Newport, R.I.   Avalon representatives attended this annual Hope Funds for Cancer Research event where each year it awards postdoctoral fellowships to outstanding cancer researchers and honors other outstanding contributors to cancer research.   Throughout two days of programmatic events, past and new Fellows have the opportunity to present highlights of their research to an audience of experts and investors for feedback and discussion, while the Women in Science Luncheon features leading female scientists and female-led companies involved in cancer research.  The Hope Funds Awards of Excellence recognize outstanding achievements in the field of cancer research, drug development, medicine, patient support and philanthropy.

This year’s honorees are:  John C. Byrd, M.D.  Dr. Byrd is D. Warren Brown Chair of Leukemia Research, Distinguished University Professor of Medicine, and Senior Advisor for Cancer Experimental Therapeutics at The Ohio State University.  Paul Greengard, Ph.D. Dr. Greengard is Vincent Astor Professor, head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, and since 1995, Director of the Fisher Center For Alzheimer’s Disease Research at The Rockefeller University.  William G. Kaelin, Jr., M.D.  Dr. Kaelin is the Sidney Farber Professor of Medicine, in the Department of Medicine at the DanaFarber Cancer Institute and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.   Robert S. Langer, Sc.D. Dr. Langer is Institute Professor at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Dr. Langer has launched over 30 companies and his patents have been licensed to over 350 companies. Antoni Ribas, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Ribas is Professor of Medicine, professor of Surgery and professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Director of the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) Center at UCLA.

Founded in 2006, the mission of the Hope Funds for Cancer Research is to encourage investigation of innovative cancer treatment and detection for the most difficult-to-treat and understudied cancers. The Hope Funds for Cancer Research supports scientific and medical research programs aimed at increasing knowledge relating to both cancer care and prevention. Programs selected for support are those believed to have the highest probability of success in addressing unmet medical needs, as determined by rigorous scientific and economic analysis.

Sponsors of this year’s event included Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen Onology, Verastem Oncology and A4 Architecture and Planning.