Newswise — The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) will present the AACI Distinguished Scientist Award to Timothy Ley, MD, on October 26, during the 2014 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, in Chicago. Prior to the award presentation, Dr. Ley will deliver a talk on his recent research on acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Dr. Ley led the team at Washington University in St. Louis that sequenced the first human cancer genomes, and he is principal investigator on a recently awarded five-year, $14.3 million National Institutes of Health Program Project Grant in leukemia.
The AACI Distinguished Scientist Award acknowledges extraordinary scientific accomplishments and contributions to cancer research. Previous honorees are Brian Druker, Lee Hartwell, Mary Claire King, Janet Rowley, Stuart Schreiber, Margaret R. Spitz, Bert Vogelstein, Robert Weinberg and Irving Weissman.
Dr. Ley is the Lewis T. and Rosalind B. Apple Chair in Oncology at Washington University, serves as director of the stem cell biology section in the Department of Medicine, associate director of The Genome Institute, and is a member of Siteman Cancer Center. Dr. Ley is a past president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, past treasurer of the American Association of Physicians, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Institute of Medicine. He was the 2012 recipient of the E. Donnall Thomas Prize from the American Society of Hematology.
Dr. Ley has developed approaches to reactivate fetal hemoglobin synthesis for patients with hemoglobinopathies, defined the role of the perforin/granzyme system for the function of cytotoxic and regulatory T cells, and has performed pioneering studies that have defined the genomics of AML. He has also written extensively about the physician-scientist career path, and was a key advocate for establishing the extramural Loan Repayment Programs at the NIH. He has mentored more than 50 pre- and post-doctoral fellows in his laboratory; most hold research positions in academic medicine or pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Ley received his BA from Drake University, his MD degree from Washington University Medical School of Medicine, and performed his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed fellowships in Hematology and Oncology at the NIH and at Washington University, and joined the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis in 1986.
AACI and the Cancer Center Administrators Forum (CCAF) jointly formulated the program for the 2014 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting. The meeting will be held at the Westin Chicago River North, October 26 - 28. More information on the meeting, including the program and electronic registration is available on the AACI website.
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The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) comprises 93 premier academic and freestanding cancer research centers in the United States. AACI is dedicated to reducing the burden of cancer by enhancing the impact of the nation's leading academic cancer centers.
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