The Association of American Cancer Institutes to Honor Garber with Distinguished Scientist Award

Judy E. Garber, MD, PhD, FAACR, Chief of the Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will receive the AACI Distinguished Scientist Award on Wednesday, October 20, during the 2021 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting. Due to COVID-19, the meeting will take place in a virtual format.

AACI is recognizing Dr. Garber, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, for her breakthrough research on the treatment of triple-negative or basal-like breast cancer, the most common form in women with BRCA1 mutations. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, past member of the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Councilors, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and is the past president of the American Association for Cancer Research. She was appointed by President Obama to serve a six-year term on the National Cancer Advisory Board, and in 2013 she was elected to the Institute of Medicine.

“The AACI board and its membership are honored to have this opportunity to recognize Dr. Garber’s scientific achievements,” said AACI President Caryn Lerman, PhD, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Her translational research has shaped national guidelines in cancer genetics and enhanced our ability to prevent cancer.”

Dr. Garber’s recent investigations of germline and somatic genetic markers to predict response to targeted therapies in breast cancer patients expand the field and are impacting clinical practices everywhere. Other therapies are being studied to prevent cancer in women with a heightened genetic risk for certain forms of the disease.

Dr. Garber attended Yale School of Medicine, receiving her MD/MPH in 1981. She completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in hematology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and her fellowship in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, both in Boston.

Recent AACI Distinguished Scientist honorees include Drs. William G. Kaelin, Jr., Douglas R. Lowy, Charles Perou, Carl June, James Allison, and Lewis Cantley. 

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AACI’s mission is to accelerate progress against cancer by enhancing the impact of North America’s leading academic cancer centers. For more information, please visit aaci-cancer.org