NEW YORK CITY, January 22, 2021 — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announces the following awards and appointments:
Craig B. Thompson Named to City and State’s 2021 Health Power 100 List
Craig Thompson, MD, President and CEO of MSK, has been named to the 2021 City & State’s Health Power 100. The list recognizes public officials, healthcare executives, advocates and activists, academics, and labor leaders who are navigating the COVID-19 crisis and finding a path forward.
Neil Halpern Recipient of SCCM Founders Award
Neil Halpern, MD, Director of MSK’s Critical Care Center and Chief of Critical Care at MSK, received the Founders Special Recognition Award for his extraordinary efforts to the Society of Critical Care Medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Halpern authored “Configuring ICUs in the COVID-19 Era” and “United States Resource Availability for COVID-19” which proved to be instrumental in garnering media and government attention that highlighted the extraordinary efforts of critical care professionals. Further, Dr. Halpern spearheaded the efforts and authored the criteria for the SCCM COVID-19 ICU Design Award.
David Solit Named Inaugural Endeavor Award Recipient by Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
MSK physician-scientist David Solit, MD, has been named a recipient of The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research’s Inaugural Endeavor Award. Dr. Solit and a team of investigators have teamed up to study how cancer cells change their fate with an emphasis on how this lineage plasticity drives the progression of bladder cancer. This inaugural award focuses on three particularly intractable problems in cancer research: preventing and overcoming metastasis, decoding the whole-body response to cancer, and understanding the molecular mechanisms of tumor plasticity and progression.
Four MSK Investigators Named 2021 American Society of Hematology Fellow Scholar Award Winners
MSK’s Roni Shouval, MD, PhD, Richard Lin, MD, PhD, Diu Ngyen, DPhil, Scott Millman, MD, PhD, have been selected by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) to receive a Scholar Award. One of ASH’s most prestigious research award programs, the ASH Scholar Awards financially support fellows and junior faculty dedicated to careers in hematology research as they transition from training programs to careers as independent investigators.
The Scholar Award funds hematologists in the United States and Canada who conduct basic, translational, and clinical research that furthers the understanding and treatment of blood disorders. ASH Scholar Awards are made possible through support from the ASH Foundation as well as from the corporate community, individual donors, and funds committed by the Society.
Elizabeth Sutton and CCNY Receive $4 Million NIH-Funded Grant for Breast Cancer Screening
MSK and The City College of New York (CCNY) are the recipients of a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to use machine-learning for early breast cancer detection in high-risk women. The five-year project will analyze 100,000 breast exams from MSK, as well as data from Duke University and Johns Hopkins University.
The project, “Machine learning for risk-adjusted breast MRI screening,” will be co-led by MSK’s Elizabeth J. Sutton, MD, and Lucas C. Parra, Harold Shames Chair and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at CCNY. The project will leverage modern machine learning techniques to analyze medical images, an area of expertise for Parra. The goal will be to detect breast cancer as early as possible while limiting the burden of screening in high-risk women.
Yeon Joo Lee Named Fellow of the Infectious Disease Society of America
MSK Infectious Disease Specialist Yeon Joo Lee, MD, was named a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The IDSA is the nation’s leading infectious diseases professional society and recognizes distinguished physicians and scientists from the United States and around the world. Fellowship in IDSA is the highest honor in the field of infectious diseases.
J. Isabelle Choi, MD, Named Committee Chair for National Association for Proton Therapy
The National Association for Proton Therapy launched a new physician advisory committee to provide advice on topics such as clinical research, patient education, and insurance reimbursement. MSK’s J. Isabelle Choi, MD, will serve as committee chair. Dr. Choi and committee members will help promote the benefits of proton therapy, attend advocacy meetings with representatives of state and federal agencies and federal lawmakers, and support proton therapy research.
Sujana Movva Named 2021 Grant Recipient by Leiomyosarcoma Support & Direct Research Foundation
MSK’s Sujana Movva, MD, was awarded a grant from the Leiomyosarcoma Support & Direct Research Foundation. Dr. Movva will use this grant to expand her research and build on her clinical trial looking at the role of BCRA mutations and combining a PARP inhibitor with an immunotherapy drug.
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About Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK):
As the world’s oldest and largest private cancer center, Memorial Sloan Kettering has devoted more than 135 years to exceptional patient care, influential educational programs and innovative research to discover more effective strategies to prevent, control and, ultimately, cure cancer. MSK is home to more than 20,000 physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff united by a relentless dedication to conquering cancer. Today, we are one of 51 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, with state-of-the-art science and technology supporting groundbreaking clinical studies, personalized treatment, and compassionate care for our patients. We also train the next generation of clinical and scientific leaders in oncology through our continually evolving educational programs, here and around the world. Year after year, we are ranked among the top two cancer hospitals in the country, consistently recognized for our expertise in adult and pediatric oncology specialties. www.mskcc.org.
