Dr. Webster Cavenee Receives the AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Award Lectureship
Dr. Webster Cavenee
Dr. Webster Cavenee, Director of the LICR San Diego Branch, was awarded the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Princess Takamatsu Memorial Award Lectureship at the 2007 AACR Annual Meeting. Dr. Cavenee received the inaugural Princess Takamatsu Memorial Award in recognition of his pioneering research in cancer genetics.
Dr. Cavenee’s research has shaped the current understanding of the mechanisms involved in cancer predisposition. It was his efforts in defining the genetic lesions in retinoblastoma that resulted in the first indisputable evidence for the existence of tumor suppressor genes in human cancer. This work is considered revolutionary, as it confirmed the “two-hit hypothesis” and altered the way scientists viewed the onset and progression of cancer. Mutations in tumor suppressor genes have now been identified in more than 50% of all cancers.
r. Cavenee has received a multitude of accolades and recognition for his landmark advancements in cancer research. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Past-President of the AACR, Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, and serves on the editorial boards of several journals. He has also served on the Board of both the Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Award Lectureship was established in honor of the late Princess Takamatsu of Japan to recognize a scientist whose novel and important discoveries significantly contribute to the advancement of cancer detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention, and who shares the Princess’s belief in the impact of international collaborations.