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Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of lymphoma and chief of the Oncology/Hematology Division at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, began a 1-year term as president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) at its 2015 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, on June 1. Since 2006, she has served as the associate director of clinical research and co-chair of the lymphoma program at the institution's Fred and Pamela Buffet Cancer Center.

Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, professor of surgery and oncology and director of the melanoma program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, received the Karnofsky Memorial Award on May 30 at the ASCO meeting. The award recognizes her outstanding contributions to cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment. Her studies of human antitumor immunity have provided a foundation for the translational development of cancer vaccines, adoptive T-cell transfer, and immunomodulatory monoclonal antibodies.

Also at the ASCO meeting, James P. Allison, PhD, professor and chair of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Department of Immunology in Houston, received the Science of Oncology Award on May 31. The award salutes his groundbreaking studies on T-cell response mechanisms and the application of that knowledge to overcome cancer's ability to evade the immune system. His discoveries led to the clinical development of ipilimumab (Yervoy; Bristol-Myers Squibb) to block CTLA-4.

For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://CDnews.aacrjournals.org.