American Association for Cancer Research announces president-elect
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Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, FAACR, has been elected president-elect of American Association for Cancer Research for the 2021-2022 term.
Her term will start at the association’s annual meeting later this month. She will begin a 1-year term as AACR president in April 2022.
Coussens serves as associate director for basic research at Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, where she is a professor and chair of the cell, developmental and cancer biology departments, and the Hildegard Lamfrom endowed chair in basic science.
“Being elected to serve the AACR community is a tremendous honor,” Coussens said in a press release. “I look forward to leveraging the stage provided by the AACR to bolster the basic, translational and clinical cancer communities in our missions to further discoveries into the underpinnings of cancer, explore novel druggable targets, as well as uncover the rich genetic variation in diverse populations that predispose and protect from cancer.”
As a cancer biologist, Coussens has contributed to the understanding of innate immune cell functions in fostering neoplastic progression and suppressing T-cell functionality, according to the release.
Coussens became a member of AACR in 2001 and served on its board of directors from 2008 to 2011. She was elected as a fellow to the AACR Academy in 2019.
“Dr. Coussens is an extraordinary scientist whose pioneering research on the tumor microenvironment and chronic inflammation has had an incredible impact on the understanding and treatment of many different types of cancer,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD, CEO of AACR. “The AACR will benefit greatly from her wide scientific knowledge, proven track record as a leader and mentor to her colleagues, and commitment to the AACR’s mission.”
The association also elected five members to its board of directors for the 2021-2024 term.
The cancer researchers, who will begin their terms at this year’s annual meeting, are:
- Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Ward Coleman chair in cancer research and professor of medicine in hematology and medical oncology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, as well as director of immunotherapy, medical director of the vaccine and cell therapy laboratory and co-director of the cancer immunology program at Tisch Cancer Institute;
- Luis Alberto Diaz Jr., MD, head of the division of solid tumor oncology, Grayer Family chair in medicine and director of the Precision Intervention and Prevention Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College; and attending physician for Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases;
- Susan M. Galbraith, MBBChir, PhD, MRCP, FRCR, FMedSci, head of early oncology and oncology research and development and senior vice president of IMED Oncology for AstraZeneca in the U.K.;
- Thomas J. Lynch Jr., MD, president, director and Raisbeck endowed chair at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; and
- Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO, FSSO, director of the interdisciplinary breast program, chief of the division of breast surgery, medical director of the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes and staff surgeon for Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian Hospital Network; adjunct professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; and adjunct faculty member in the department of surgery at Henry Ford Health System.
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