Newswise — On June 27, 2006, the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) will host its 20th Annual Awards Dinner at The Rainbow Room in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Emceed by television personality and CRI trustee Bryant Gumbel, this anniversary event will celebrate scientists and laypersons who have made significant contributions to the fight against cancer and will highlight CRI's accomplishments over the past two decades.
"¢ 2006 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumor Immunology --Ian Frazer, M.D., FRCPA, of the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, chief contributor to Merck's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasilâ„¢, will receive the 2006 Coley Award for his development of non-infectious virus like particles (VLPs), on which the Merck cervical cancer vaccine is based.
Dr. Frazer, whose earliest clinical trials of the vaccine were supported by CRI, will also give the evening's keynote address.
Harald zur Hausen, M.D., D.Sc., of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, will receive the 2006 Coley Award for his elucidation of the link between viral infections and cancer. Dr. zur Hausen was the first to show that the human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most significant cause of cervical cancer.
"¢ 2006 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic ImmunologyBruce A. Beutler, M.D., of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, and Shizuo Akira, M.D., Ph.D., of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases at Osaka University in Osaka, Japan, will receive the 2006 Coley Award for their contributions to our understanding of the events leading to the initiation of the innate immune response via the engagement of Toll-like receptors.
"¢ 2006 Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer Research --Julian H. Robertson, Jr., founder and chairman of Tiger Management Corporation, one of the largest and most successful hedge fund groups ever created, is the 2006 Grace Award winner. Mr. Robertson, a trustee and former president of the Cancer Research Institute, will be honored for his many years of dedication to and support of the Institute, and for his commitment to encouraging and sustaining informed philanthropy, particularly in the areas of health research and education.
Current CRI Co-Chairman Donald J. Gogel, President & CEO of Clayton Dubilier & Rice, a leading private equity and investment firm, will highlight the outstanding cutting-edge research CRI supports. Also speaking will be Christine Sable, an ovarian cancer survivor and recipient of an investigational CRI cancer vaccine she credits with keeping her alive.
About the William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor ImmunologyThis award was established in 1975 in honor of Dr. William B. Coley, a pioneer of cancer immunotherapy, whose daughter Helen Coley Nauts (1907-2001) founded the Cancer Research Institute. Each Coley Award winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and a gold medallion.
About the Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer ResearchThis award recognizes the contributions of dedicated laypersons whose leadership has had a significant impact on cancer research. The award is named in memory of Oliver R. Grace, the founding chairman of the Cancer Research Institute, who died in 1992. Each Grace Award winner will receive a gold medallion.
About the Cancer Research InstituteThe Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is the world's only non-profit, private organization dedicated exclusively to the development of immune-based therapies for the prevention and control of cancer. Guided by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes five Nobel Prize winners and twenty-eight members of the esteemed National Academy of Sciences, CRI supports the finest cutting-edge cancer research at top medical centers and universities throughout the world. As the initiator and steward of unprecedented global scientific and clinical collaborations like the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative and the Cancer Antigen Discovery Collaborative, joint programs with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, CRI is ushering in a new era of scientific progress, hastening the discovery of effective cancer vaccines and other immune-based therapies that are providing new hope to cancer patients. On average, nearly 90 cents of every dollar CRI raises goes directly to the support of science, medical, and research programs. This has consistently earned CRI an A grade or higher for fiscal disclosure and efficiency from the American Institute of Philanthropy and top marks from other charity watchdog organizations. http://www.cancerresearch.org.
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