Five individuals receive American Cancer Society Medal of Honor

American Cancer Society presented its Medal of Honor to five individuals during a ceremony in Washington.

The Medal of Honor — the society’s highest award — recognizes individuals who have made valuable contributions in the fight against cancer through basic research, clinical research or cancer control.

“It’s truly an honor to celebrate these notable individuals for their dedication and lifetime achievements to significantly impact the fight against cancer,” Gary M. Reedy, the society’s CEO, said in a press release. “These individuals hold our highest admiration and respect for their contribution in leading the fight for a world without cancer.”

Vice President Joseph R. Biden received a Medal of Honor for his efforts in cancer control.

Biden led the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force, which resulted in more than 80 new actions and collaborations to accelerate progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment. He also worked with Congress to authorize an additional $1.8 billion for cancer research, and he launched the nonprofit Biden Cancer Initiative.

Emmanuelle Charpentier, PhD, and Jennifer Doudna, PhD, were honored for basic research.

Charpentier is director of Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin. She is recognized for her contributions to deciphering the molecular mechanisms of the bacterial CRISPR/Cas9 system and repurposing it into a tool for genome editing. This tool has revolutionized the speed and power of genetic-based cancer research models.

Doudna is professor in the department of chemistry and chemical engineering, and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the department of molecular and cell biology, at University of California, Berkeley. She has been an investigator with Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1997 and directs the Innovative Genomics Institute, a collaboration between UC Berkeley and University of California, San Francisco. She has contributed greatly to the development of CRISPR-mediated genome editing, which has been key to cancer research and offers promise as a tool to treat therapy-resistant malignancies.

Charis Eng, MD, PhD, was recognized for her clinical research contributions.

Eng — a HemOnc Today Editorial Board member — is chair and founding director of Genomic Medicine Institute at Cleveland Clinic. She also is founding director and attending clinical cancer geneticist of the institute’s clinical component, the Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare, and professor and vice chair of the department of genetics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Eng has translated genomic and cellular analysis to clinical practice, and her work has established a standard for the study of hereditary predisposition and its role in cancer.

Her research showed mutations in PTEN, coupled with succinate dehydrogenase mutations, increase the risk for breast cancer. Her laboratory also discovered KLLN, a potential tumor suppressor gene that appears to increase breast cancer risk through perturbation of the cell cycle.

Michael J. Thun , MD, MS, was recognized for his contributions to cancer control science.

Thun — former vice president of epidemiology and surveillance research at American Cancer Society — has conducted research that has helped shape public health policies against cancer.

He established himself as an expert on the health hazards of uranium and cadmium among factory workers. While at American Cancer Society between 1989 and 2012, his research explored topics such as tobacco, alcohol consumption, excess body weight and aspirin use.

In 1991, The New England Journal of Medicine published a paper by Thun and colleagues that showed regular low-dose aspirin use may reduce risk for colon cancer. This paper laid the groundwork for future clinical trials, leading to a U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation for routine use of low-dose aspirin for primary prevention of colorectal cancer among adults aged 50 to 59 years at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease.