People

Robert A. Weinberg, PhD, received the American Association for Cancer Research's (AACR) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research at the organization's annual meeting in April. A professor of biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and director of the Ludwig/MIT Center for Molecular Oncology in Cambridge, Weinberg and his colleagues demonstrated that the genomes of chemically transformed cells carry information that converts them into cancer cells. This led to the isolation of the RAS oncogene. Later, his group participated in the isolation of the tumor suppressor gene RB1.

Also at the AACR meeting, Waun Ki Hong, MD, head of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, received the Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research. An expert in head and neck cancer, Hong conceptualized and led the landmark Veterans Administration Cooperative laryngeal preservation trial, which changed how the disease is managed. He later demonstrated that chemoprevention can work in humans. He was also an architect and principal investigator for BATTLE, the first successful biopsy-driven lung cancer trial.

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, MD, PhD, was appointed to a 1-year term as chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). She is a professor of medicine and of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco. The USPSTF is an independent volunteer panel of experts in prevention, evidence-based medicine, and primary care that makes recommendations on clinical services, such as cancer screenings, to primary care physicians.

For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/early/by/section.