Foundation presents award to gynecologic researcher

The Claudia Cohen Research Foundation and the Foundation for Women’s Cancer named Michael J. Birrer, MD, PhD, as its 2016 recipient of the Claudia Cohen Research Foundation Prize for Outstanding Gynecologic Researcher.

Birrer is professor at Harvard Medical School and director of gynecologic medical oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Michael J. Birrer

“In the 30 years I have been involved in gynecological cancer research, I have never been as excited and optimistic as I am now for developing more effective tools to detect, diagnose and to treat these diseases,” Birrer said in a press release. “One of my favorite expressions I use with my patients suffering recurrent gynecological cancers is to tell them, ‘Thirty years ago, this conversation would be very short, but now there are many, many options.’ And with options comes great hope, and with hope comes the very basis for progress.”

This is the seventh annual prize awarded by the foundation, formed in honor of a journalist and philanthropist who died of uterine leiomyosarcoma in 2007.

“The Claudia Cohen Research Foundation is proud to support leading scientific researchers who are striving for solutions to combat gynecologic cancers,” Samantha Perelman, Cohen’s daughter and founder of the foundation, said in a press release. “My mother Claudia was a strong and determined fighter, and in her honor, we are delighted to recognize Dr. Birrer for his diligence and dedication to improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients affected by reproductive cancers.”