Dateline DFCI
Awards, grants, and gifts mark achievements by staff
Dana-Farber researchers earned numerous honors and grants in recent months in recognition of their promise and accomplishments. Among them, pediatric oncologist David Pellman, MD, won a 2006 E. Mead Johnson Award from the Society for Pediatric Research for outstanding achievements in the field – in this case, his findings about the behavior of chromosomes within cells. His colleague Stuart Orkin, MD, meanwhile, received a 2005 Award for Distinguished Research from the Association of American Medical Colleges heralding his 25-year effort to enhance diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders. Two faculty members took home Claire W. and Richard P. Morse Research Awards for highest-caliber clinical or basic research: George Demetri, MD, for his work on molecularly targeted oncology drugs such as Gleevec and the recently FDAapproved drug Sutent, and Karen Emmons, PhD, for her contributions to reducing cancer disparities in minority and underserved populations.
Also in the area of disparities, the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center is sharing a $4.3 million federal grant with the University of Massachusetts Boston to stimulate joint investigations into health inequities and to improve research, training, and outreach opportunities for students, nurses, and minority scientists. And a team working to enhance the effectiveness of bone marrow and stem cell transplants celebrated the renewal of an $8.7 million, five-year research grant this past fall from the National Institutes of Health.
Dana-Farber's fundraising, meanwhile, has kept pace to support the rapidly advancing landscape of cancer research and care. These efforts yielded $160.5 million in gifts and pledges received from many thousands of individuals, families, foundations, corporations, and events during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2005. This is a 37 percent increase over the previous year and represents the second year that DFCI fundraising totals have surpassed the $100 million mark. The $160.5 million total includes $51 million contributed through the Jimmy Fund, Dana- Farber's grass-roots fundraising arm established in 1948.
