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American Association for Cancer Research inaugurates new leadership
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Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, has been inaugurated as the 2017-2018 president of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Caligiuri — director of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and CEO of Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute — assumed the presidency during the association’s annual meeting, held this past week in Washington, D.C.
Caligiuri has been involved with AACR since 1990. He served on its board of directors from 2013 to 2016, and he has served as chairman of the publications committee since 2003.
“For nearly a century, AACR has been an unwavering catalyst for advancing cancer research by fostering collaboration among scientists and physicians, accelerating the dissemination of cancer discoveries, and supporting the education and training of young cancer researchers,” Caligiuri said in a press release. “I am humbled and tremendously honored to be elected by my peers to serve as AACR president.”
Caligiuri, known for his work in immunology, has focused his research on human natural killer cells and their use in the treatment of myeloma, leukemia and glioblastoma.
“Game-changing cancer research breakthroughs can’t come fast enough — and as an oncology community, we must continue to be an unwavering force for progress in research that benefits the many people affected by cancer,” Caligiuri said.
Caligiuri succeeds Nancy E. Davidson, MD, FAACR, executive director of oncology for Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium and president of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Davidson now will serve as AACR’s past president.
Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, deputy director of Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and associate director of the Bloomberg—Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Johns Hopkins, has been elected AACR’s president-elect. She will assume the presidency at the association’s annual meeting in April 2018.
“I am honored to serve the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to cancer research,” Jaffee said in a press release. “The AACR has fostered extensive collaboration among cancer researchers, helps to propel the careers of young scientists, and provides peer review for scores of cancer discoveries. Cancer research is accelerating at a fast pace, with notable advances in immunotherapy over just a few years. The AACR is at the forefront of keeping the scientific community abreast of these discoveries.”
Jaffee — recognized for her work is cancer immunology — is known for her expertise in preclinical and early clinical development of immunotherapies for pancreatic and breast cancers.
“Dr. Jaffee is an esteemed physician–scientist whose pioneering work in cancer immunology and immunotherapy has had an enormous impact on the discovery and development of new and effective cancer treatments,” Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of AACR, said in the release. “She is also a distinguished, highly effective leader in cancer policy at the national level, and her work in this area has been deeply appreciated by the whole cancer community.”