PHILADELPHIA, June 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson &
Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today named Dr. Bert Vogelstein of Johns
Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and
the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the winner of the 2015 Dr.
Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical
Research for his breakthroughs in oncology research, which have
spanned more than two decades and have formed the basis of modern
cancer research.
Dr. Vogelstein was honored last night during a reception at the
2015 BIO International Convention in Philadelphia. A video of his acceptance
comments can be viewed here.
"Dr. Vogelstein's work forms the paradigm for understanding how
nearly all forms of human tumors arise and progress," said
Paul Stoffels, M.D., Chief
Scientific Officer and Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, Johnson
& Johnson. "His discoveries triggered a new wave of innovation
in the field, resulting in transformational solutions for patients.
It is a great honor to recognize the work of researchers like Dr.
Vogelstein, who embody the same tenacity and commitment to
improving human health as Dr. Paul."
Beginning in the 1980's, Vogelstein and his colleagues designed
novel approaches to study the molecular basis of colorectal tumors
and found that they result from the sequential accumulation of
alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. His group went
on to discover many of the most important of these genes. For
example, they identified TP53, the gene encoding the p53 protein,
as a tumor suppressor gene that functioned as a common
denominator of cancer, altered more often than any other gene
across tumor types. Dr. Vogelstein's work throughout the past two
decades has continued to illuminate cancer genes and the pathways
they control, guiding the current scientific revolution in
genome-wide studies of tumors.
"Dr. Vogelstein's ground-breaking research has transformed our
understanding of cancer biology and holds the promise for new
treatments based on cancer genetics," said Craig Mello, Ph.D., professor of Molecular
Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical
School and investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute,
and chair of the Dr. Paul Janssen Award independent
selection committee. "His work, including examining genetic and
biochemical events that initiate solid tumors, is widely applicable
to the diagnosis, treatment and management of cancer, and provides
broad practical implications for patients with both hereditary and
sporadic forms of cancer."
Dr. Vogelstein is the Director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer
Genetics & Therapeutics at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer
Center, Clayton Professor of Oncology and Pathology at Johns Hopkins University, and an investigator of
the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is also a past winner of a
number of accolades including the following: Breakthrough Prize in
Life Sciences; Richard Lounsbery
Award; Canada Gairdner International Award; Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, Paul
Ehrlich Foundation; William Allan
Award, American Society of Human Genetics; Charles S. Mott Prize,
General Motors Cancer Research Foundation; Prince of Asturias Award
in Science; and Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer
Research.
"For me this journey began with one of my first patients, a four
year old with leukemia – a disease we knew very little about at the
time. I set out to determine what molecular changes drive
malignancy, in the hope that this would lead to improved approaches
to diagnosis and therapy," said Dr. Vogelstein. "I am honored to
have my laboratory's work recognized and to join the list of
exceptional past winners of the Dr. Paul
Janssen Award for Biomedical Research."
The winners of the Dr. Paul
Janssen Award for Biomedical Research are chosen by an
independent selection committee of the world's most renowned
scientists. The Award, which includes a $200,000 prize, will be presented to Dr.
Vogelstein at ceremonies in the U.S. and Belgium in September.
About The Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical
Research
Dr. Paul Janssen was
one of the 20th century's most gifted and passionate researchers.
He helped save millions of lives through his contribution to the
discovery and development of more than 80 medicines, four of which
remain on the World Health Organization's list of essential
medicines. The Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical
Research was established by Johnson & Johnson to honor the
memory of Dr. Paul.
Previous Award winners include Emmanuelle Charpentier, Ph.D., Hannover Medical
School and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), and The
Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umeå
University; Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D.,
University of California, Berkeley and
Howard Hughes Medical Institute; David
Julius, Ph.D., University of
California, San Francisco; Victor
Ambros, Ph.D., University of
Massachusetts Medical School; Gary
Ruvkun, Ph.D., Massachusetts
General Hospital and Harvard Medical
School; Napoleone Ferrara,
M.D., University of California, San
Diego; Anthony S. Fauci,
M.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID); Erik De Clercq, M.D.,
Ph.D., Catholic University of Leuven;
Axel Ullrich, Ph.D., Max Planck
Institute of Biochemistry in Germany; Professor Marc Feldmann, FMedSci, FAA, FRS, and Emeritus
Professor Sir Ravinder Maini, FRCP,
FMedSci, FRS, Kennedy Institute of
Rheumatology, Imperial College London; and Craig Mello, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate, Howard
Hughes Medical Institute and University of
Massachusetts Medical School.
Learn more at www.pauljanssenaward.com.
About the Selection Committee
The Dr. Paul
Janssen Award independent selection committee is composed of
some of the world's leading scientists, including National Medal of
Science winners, Nobel Laureates, members of the National Academy
of Sciences and past winners of The Dr. Paul
Janssen Award. The 2015 Selection Committee includes:
- Craig Mello, Ph.D., (chairman),
Professor of Molecular Medicine, University of
Massachusetts Medical School and investigator, Howard Hughes
Medical Institute; 2006 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine;
2006 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for
Biomedical Research winner; member, National Academy of
Sciences
- Bruce Beutler, M.D., Regental
Professor, Director, Center for the Genetics of Host Defense,
University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center; 2011 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine; 2011
Shaw Prize winner; 2009 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and
Biomedical Research winner; member, American Academy of Arts and
Sciences
- Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D.,
Morris Herzstein Professor of Biology and Physiology, Department of
Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of
California, San Francisco; 2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology
or Medicine; 2006 Albert Lasker Medical Research Award winner; 2007
one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People
- Michael Brown, M.D., Paul J.
Thomas Professor of Molecular Genetics and Director of the Jonsson
Center for Molecular Genetics, UT Southwestern; 1985 Nobel Laureate
in Physiology or Medicine; 1988 National Medal of Science
(United States)
- Hans Clevers, Ph.D.,
President of the Royal Netherlands
Academy of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Molecular Genetics,
Utrecht University Medical Centre; 2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life
Sciences winner; 2012 French Association pour la Recherche sur le
Cancer (ARC) Léopold Griffuel Prize and the Heineken Prize winner;
2011 German Ernst Jung-Preis für
Medizin winner; 2010 United European Gastroenterology Federation
(UEGF) Research Prize winner; 2009 Dutch Cancer Society Award
winner; 2008 Dutch Josephine Nefkens Prize for Cancer Research and
the German Meyenburg Cancer Research Award winner; 2006 Israeli
Rabbi Shai Shacknai Memorial Prize
winner; 2005 Memorial Sloan-Kettering Katharine Berkan Judd Award
winner; 2004 Swiss Louis Jeantet Prize winner; 2001 Dutch Spinoza
Award winner
- Jennifer Doudna Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics
and Structural Biology, University of
California, Berkeley, the Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair in
Biomedical and Health Sciences and investigator, Howard Hughes
Medical Institute; member, National Academy of Sciences; 2014 Lurie
Prize in Biomedical Sciences from the Foundation for the National
Institutes of Health winner; 2014 Dr. Paul
Janssen Award for Biomedical Research winner; 2015 one of
TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People
- David Julius, Ph.D., Professor
and Chair of the Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco; 2013 Dr.
Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical
Research winner; 2010 Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine
winner
- Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Ph.D.,
Stanley C. Moore Professor of Bioengineering and Professor of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Director of Rice 360°: Institute for Global Health Technology,
Rice University; fellow, American
Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; 2010 Pritzker
Distinguished Scientist and Lecturer of the Biomedical Engineering
Society Annual Meeting; 1999 Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award
from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
About Johnson & Johnson
Caring for the
world, one person at a time, inspires and unites the people of
Johnson & Johnson. We embrace research and science – bringing
innovative ideas, products and services to advance the health and
well-being of people. Our approximately 129,000 employees at more
than 250 Johnson & Johnson operating companies work with
partners in health care to touch the lives of over a billion people
every day, throughout the world. For more information, visit
www.jnj.com.
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