The Kimmel Cancer Center held it’s quarterly “All Hands” meeting on May 1, 2012. Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered his quarterly “State of the Cancer Center” address. Awards were presented in four categories. A special “Lifetime Achievement” Award was presented to Jouni J. Uitto, MD. The Basic Science Award was presented to Scott Waldman, MD, PhD. The Clinical Science Award was presented to Nicole Simone, MD. The Administration Award was present to Oliver Dutton. Also a special presentation on the services offered by Cancer Genomics Shared Resource was present by Paolo Fortina, MD.

Dr, Jouni Uitto receives Special "Lifetime Acheivement" Award from Dr. Richard Pestell

Dr. Scott Waldmn Receives Basic Science Award From Dr. Richard Pestell

Dr. Nicole Simone Receives Clinical Science Award From Dr. Adam Dicker

Mr. Oliver Dutton Receives Administration Award From Ms. Mika Harding

The Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson hosted the Annual ACS-IRG Luncheon on November 11. The 2012 Pilot Project recipients are S. Onder Alpdogan, MD; Amy Leader, DrPh, MPH; and Jianqing Lin, MD; all of the Department of Medical Oncology; Scott Keith, PhD; from the department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics; Nicole Simone, MD; department of Radiation Oncology; and Christopher Snyder, PhD; department of Microbiology & Immunology. They briefly explained their research projects to Lynne Ayres, MBA, Director of Research Communications, and Larry Slagle, Distinguished Giving Director, of the East Central Division of the American Cancer Society. Ms. Ayres and Mr. Slagle explained the ACS mission and offered ways in which the Pilot Project recipients would be able to assist them in that mission.

Left to Right: Nicole Simone, Jianqing Lin, Marja Nevalainen, Larry Slagle, Lynne Ayres, Christopher Snyder, Amy Leader, and Scott Keith.

The Kimmel Cancer Center held it’s quarterly “All Hands” meeting on December 12, 2012. Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered his quarterly “State of the Cancer Center” address. Awards were presented in 3 categories. The Administration Award was presented to the KCC Post-Award Administration Group (Dina Liebowitz, Melissa McDaid Dyer, Melanie Elliott, Karen Gosik, Tracey Kajkowski, Kathy Wyszynski, Rick Yellis and Pam Bachman). The Nursing Award was presented to Bone Marrow Transplant Unit (Patricia Cornett Farley, Michael Sun, Ngoc Bao Ho, Minh Duc Tran, Brendan McGuire and Barbara Stanback). The Clinical Award was presented to Matthew Carabasi, MD. There were also special presentations about upcoming Consortium-wide Pilot/Special Project Funding opportunities. Dr. Richard Davidson discussed the American Cancer Society – Institutional Research Grant. Drs. Andrew Quong and Noreen Robertson discussed the KCC Pilot Project Program (funding provided by TJU and Drexel). Dr. Banu Onaral and Mr. Davood Tashayyod discussed the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Research Partnership Program.

Dr. Matthew Carabasi receives the Clinician Award from Drs. Neal Flomenberg and Richard Pestell

The Bone Marrow Transplant Unit receives the Nursing Award from Drs. Neal Flomenbger and Richard Pestell

The Kimmel Cancer Center held it’s quarterly “All Hands” meeting on September 12, 2012. Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered his quarterly “State of the Cancer Center” address. Awards were presented in 4 categories. The Administration Award was presented to Janene Palidora. The Nursing Award was presented to Cheryl Santosusso. The Clinical Award was presented to Vochita Bar Ad, MD. The Basic Science/”Discovery of the Year” Award was presented to George Prendergast, PhD. In addition to the KCC Awards, the “Distinguished Mentor” Award was presented to Karen Knudsen. PhD by the Jefferson College of Graduate Studies Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and the Jefferson Postdoctoral Association. Dr. Renato Iozzo also received the “Distinguished Mentor” award. See JCGS Page for more

Dr. Noreen Robertson receives the Administration Award from Drs. Richard Pestell and Richard Davidson

Ms. Janene Palindora receives Administration Award from Mr. Richard Haldeman

Ms. Cheryl Santosusso receives Nursing Award from Dr. Neal Flomenberg

Dr. Vochita Bar Ad receives the Clinicican Award from Dr. Neal Floimenberg

Dr. George Prendergast receives Basic Science/"Discovery of the Year" Award from Dr. Richard Pestell

Dr. Karen Knudsen receives JCGS "Distinguished Mentor" Award from Dr. Lisa Kozlowski

The Kimmel Cancer Center held it’s quarterly “All Hands” meeting on June 19, 2012. Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of  the Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered his quarterly “State of the Cancer Center” address. Awards were presented in 3 categories. The Administration Award was presented to Rita Genovese, CPC, PCS. The Basic Science Award was presented to Adam Ertel, PhD. The Nursing Award was presented to Susan Krick, RN. The Clinical Award was presented to Edith Mitchell, MD.

Ms. Rita Genovese receives Administrative Award from Mr. Richard Haldeman

Ms. Susan Krick receives Nursing Award from Dr. Adam Dicker

Dr. Adam Ertel receives the Basic Science Award from Dr. Richard Davidson

On Monday, June 11, 2012, at the Annual Jefferson Postdoctoral Research Symposium, Dr. Karen Knudsen and Dr. Renato Iozzo were honored with The Distinguished Mentor Award. The Distinguished Mentor Award was established to recognize Jefferson faculty members that excel in the mentoring of postdoctoral fellows. The award also serves to highlight the importance of positive and effective mentoring of postdoctoral fellows. A good mentor not only teaches his/her mentees but serves as an advocate, advisor and positive role model during the period of direct training and most often, in the following years. It is our hope that the Distinguished Mentor will serve as a model for the entire university and help to enhance the culture of mentoring at Jefferson.

On Saturday, May 5, 2012 Jeannie Hoffman-Censits, M.D. led Team Jefferson from the Kimmel Cancer Center‘s Bluemle Life Sciences Building to Independence Hall. Dr. Hoffman-Censits teamed up with “the first national advocacy organization devoted to bladder cancer,” the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, to help raise public awareness of bladder cancer and much needed funding.

Team Jefferson will be walking again on May 4, 2013. For more information, please contact Jessica Soens at Jessica.Soens@JeffersonHospital.org or call 215-955-2054.

Ronald E. Myers, Ph.D.

Ronald Myers, Ph.D., Professor of Medical Oncology and Director of the Division of Population Science at Thomas Jefferson University, has been selected to chair an Expert Working Group discussion at the World Endoscopy Organization meeting on May 18, 2012. The discussion entitled “Improving Population Engagement in Screening” is being held ahead of the DDW Conference in San Diego, CA. and will be the Expert Working Group’s first meeting. The focus of this discussion is Engaging Populations in International CRC Screening Programs.

For more information on this event please contact Dr. Myers at Ronald.Myers@Jefferson.edu or 215-503-4085.

Dr. Richard G. Pestell, Martha Mayer Erlebacher, Dr. Carlo M. Croce, Dr. Richard L. Davidson

A portrait of Dr. Carlo Croce, the founding Director of the Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center, painted by Philadelphia artist Martha Erlebacher, was unveiled on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, at 4:00 PM in the Bluemle Life Sciences Building.

Martha Mayer Erlebacher has been recognized as one of the leading representational figurative and still-life artists in America who has shown her work nationally and internationally. A number of books and periodicals feature her work, much of which “examines the deep metaphorical and social themes of contemporary culture through her painterly and aesthetic images.”

Dr. Croce is world-renowned for his contributions involving the genes and genetic mechanisms implicated in the pathogenesis of human cancer. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine in the United States and the Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta deiXL in Italy. He has earned a plethora of awards in recognition of his hard work and dedication including two Outstanding Investigator awards from the National Cancer Institute and most recently, an Elected Membership to The American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Joesph S. Gonnella and Dr. Carlo M. Croce

Dr. Croce is a principal investigator on eleven federal research grants and has more than 950 peer-reviewed, published research papers. A native of Milan, Italy, Dr. Croce earned his medical degree, summa cum laude, in 1969 from the School of Medicine, University of Rome. He began his career in the United States the following year as an associate scientist at the Wistar Institute of Biology and Anatomy in Philadelphia. In 1980, he was named Wistar Professor of Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania and Institute Professor and Associate Director of the Wistar Institute, titles he held until 1988. From 1988-91, he was Director of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

In 1991 Dr. Croce was named Director of the Kimmel Cancer Institute at Thomas Jefferson University.  While here, Dr. Croce discovered the role of microRNAs in cancer pathogenesis and progression, implicating a new class of genes in cancer causation.  After thirteen years as Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, Dr. Croce moved to Ohio State University in 2004.  Under his direction at OSU, faculty within the Human Cancer Genetics Program conduct both clinical and basic research.  Basic research projects focus on how genes are activated and inactivated, how cell-growth signals are transmitted and regulated within cells, and how cells interact with the immune system. Clinical research focuses on discovering genes linked to cancer and mutations that predispose people to cancer.

The Kimmel Cancer Center held it’s quarterly “All Hands” meeting on March 14, 2012. Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered his quarterly “State of the Cancer Center” address. Awards were presented in 4 categories. The Administration/Wings Award was presented to Steven McKenzie, MD, PhD. The Basic Science Award was presented to John Pascal, PhD. The Nursing Award was presented to Deborah Turner, RN. The Clinical Award was presented to Edith Mitchell, MD.

Dr. Steven MCKenzie recieves Administrative/Wings Award from Dr. Richard Pestell

Dr. John Pascal receives the Basic Science Award from Dr. Jeffrey Benovic

Ms. Deborah Turner receives Nursing Award from Dr. Neal Flomenberg

Dr. Edith Mitchell receives Clinician Award from Dr. Neal Flomenberg

The Kimmel Cancer Center held it’s quarterly “All Hands” meeting on December 23, 2011. Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered his quarterly “State of the Cancer Center” address. Awards were presented in six categories. The Administration Award was presented to Jeanine Voll. The Basic Science Award was presented to Agnieszka Witkiewicz, MD. The Nursing Award was presented to Maura Milligan, RN. The Clinical Award was presented to Nancy Lewis, MD. The “Discovery of the Year” Award was presented to Neal Flomnberg, MD and Dolores Grosso, RN, CRNP, DNP for their work in using haploindentical donors successfully in bone marrow transplants. The “Lifetime Achievement” Award was presented to Renato Baserga, MD.

Dr. Renato Baserga receives the "Lifetime Achievement" Award From Dr. Richard Pestell

Ms. Jeanine Voll receives Administration Award from Dr. Richard Davidson

Dr. Agnieszka Witkiewicz receives Basic Science Award from Dr. Richard Pestell

Dr. Nancy Lewis receives Clinical Award from Dr. Neal Flomenberg

Dr. Neal Folmenberg and Dr. Dolores Grosso receive the "Discovery of the Year" Award from Dr. Richard Pestell

http://www.melanoma.org

CURE OM has announced the inaugural Eyes on a Cure: Patient and Caregiver Symposium to be held on June 16th and 17th, 2012.  The meeting will be held one month after the first CURE OM Scientific Meeting (for physicians and researchers) with the goal of bringing the latest news from the ocular melanoma scientific community directly to patients and their loved ones.  Eyes on a Cure will bring patients, caregivers and researchers from around the world together to offer educational sessions, support groups led by oncology social workers, sessions on complementary therapies, as well as informal time for networking.

This first patient and caregiver symposium will be held in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University.  Confirmed speakers include: Carol Shields, Takami Sato, David Eschelman, Carin Gonsalves, and James Pingpank.

For more information about the symposium go to the MRF Symposium Announcement

Russell Schilder, M.D.

PHILADELPHIA—Russell J. Schilder, M.D., recently joined Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as Director of the Gynecologic Medical Oncology Program at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

Prior to his arrival at Jefferson, Dr. Schilder served as a professor in the Department of Medical Oncology and Chief of Gynecologic Medical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this outstanding team of highly-skilled clinicians at Jefferson,” Dr. Schilder said. “This hospital has a great reputation, particularly with their approach to individualized patient care, the latest, cutting-edge technology and research, and a much-appreciated sense of community. I’m looking forward to my time here as the director of Gynecologic Medical Oncology.”

A graduate of Rutgers University, Dr. Schilder received both his M.S. and medical degree from the University of Miami. Dr. Schilder’s postgraduate training began at Temple University Hospital with an internship and residency in Internal Medicine. In 1989, he completed a joint hematology and oncology fellowship at Temple University Hospital and Fox Chase Cancer Center.

Board-certified in internal medicine, hematology and oncology, Dr. Schilder’s research in gynecologic oncology has been published extensively in academic journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Clinical Cancer Research. Additionally, he serves as a reviewer for academic oncology journals, including Cancer Research.

Dr. Schilder is the principal investigator for many clinical trials that study the treatment of persistent or recurrent ovarian cancer. He is also the co-principal investigator for many other clinical trials within the Gynecologic Oncology Group.

A member of several professional societies including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Association of Cancer Research and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society, Dr. Schilder serves on the advisory boards of several pharmaceutical companies and has presented his oncology research at national and international scientific meetings.

His research interests include evaluating new treatments for gynecologic malignancies and conducting phase I trials for new drug development. He has written more than 150 book chapters, articles, and abstracts.

“Dr. Schilder is an incredible addition to our medical oncology team,” said William Kevin Kelly, DO, Director, Division of Solid Tumor Oncology, at Thomas Jefferson University. “The hospital and university staff and our patients will greatly benefit from his wealth of knowledge, compassion and decades of medical experience in the fields of cancer and gynecology.”

Dr. Renato Iozzo

A recent Science Signaling article (Science Signaling) (Pubmed Abstract), co-Senior Authored by Dr. Renato Iozzo, entitled “Signaling by the Matrix Proteoglycan Decorin Controls Inflammation and Cancer Through PDCD4 and MicroRNA-21″, was selected in the November 21^st issue of Science Magazine as the Editor’s Choice (more info) in the Cell Signalling Category. Dr. Renato Iozzo is a Professor of Pathology & Cell Biology and is a member of the Kimmel Cancer Center’s Cancer Cell Biology and Signaling Research Program.

The Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson hosted the Annual ACS-IRG Luncheon on October 20. The 2011 Pilot Project recipients are Takemi Tanaka, PhD. of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Benjamin Leiby, PhD from the department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Timothy Showalter, MD, department of Radiation Oncology, Ayush Dagvadorj, MD, PhD, and A. Kathleen McClendon, PhD, both of the department of Cancer Biology. They briefly explained their research projects to RuthAnn Dailey, Regional Vice-President, and Larry Slagle, Distinguished Giving Director, Southeast Region, East Central Division of the American Cancer Society. Ms. Dailey and Mr. Slagle explained the ACS mission and offered ways in which the Pilot Project recipients would be able to assist them in that mission.

Dr. Ayush Dagvadorg, Dr. Tim Showalter, Dr. Marja Nevalainen, Dr. Katie McClendon, Mr. Larry Slagle, Dr. Takemi Tanaka, MS. RuthAnn Dailey, and Dr. Ben Leiby

Ms. Olivia Newton-John and Dr. Richard G. Pestell

Dr. Richard Pestell joins Olivia Newton-John to recognize donations received from grateful donors as part of The Great Walk to Beijing international fundraising effort.Olivia Newton-John is delighted to accept these funds, raised from over 830 donors, for her Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre in Victoria, Australia.

Dr. Linda Greenbaum

Dr. Linda Greenbaum will co-organize, (along with Dr. Jessica Zucman-Rossi (Professor of Medicine (Oncology), University of Paris Descartes), the 2012 FASEB Summer Research Conference  on “Liver Biology: Fundamental Mechanisms & Translational Applications.  The conference will take place in Snowmass, Colorado July 29-August 3, 2012 and will bring together 150- 200 outstanding basic and translational scientists dedicated to the study of liver diseases.

Dr. Linda Greenbaum

Dr. Linda Greenbaum was selected as the  Chair of the  American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)/ American Liver Foundation (ALF) joint grant review committee for the term 2011-14.

The Kimmel Cancer Center held it’s quarterly “All Hands” meeting on June 29, 2011. Dr. Richard Pestell, Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center, delivered his quarterly “State of the Cancer Center” address. Awards were presented in two categories. The Nursing Award was presented to JoAnn Silcox, RN, MSN. The Basic Science Award was presented to Madhukar (Matthew) Thakur, PhD. A special “Appreciation” award was presented to Richard Haldeman, CPA, MBA. Also a special “Wings” award was presented to Isidore Rigoutsos, PhD.

JoAnn Silcox Receives Nursing Award From Dr. Andrew Chapman

Dr. Madhukar (Matthew) Thakur Receives Basic Science Award From Dr. Richard Davidson

Richard Haldeman Receives Special "Appreciation" Award from Dr. Richard Pestell

Dr. Isidore Rigoutsos Receives Special "Wings" Award From Dr. Richard Pestell

Dr. Karen Knudsen

See the Award Announcement for more information about the Award and its latest recipient. The following was abstracted from the announcement.

Dr. Karen Knudsen of the Kimmel Cancer Center received the Ron Ross Award at the 5th Pacific Rim Breast and Prostate Cancer Meeting, held in Kingscliff, Australia, May 3-7, 2011. Dr. Ron Ross was the Flora L. Thornton Chairman of Preventive Medicine and the Catherine and Joseph Aresty Professor of Preventive Medicine and Urology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Under his leadership, the Department of Preventive Medicine became the leading department in this field in the United States. Ron was also Director of the Los Angeles Cancer Surveillance Program, the cancer registry of Los Angeles County, from 1987. A respected pioneer in research on the relationship between hormones and cancer, Ron died of brain cancer on April 21 2006 at the age of 57. The Ron Ross Award acknowledges Ron’s remarkable contribution in the field of hormonal carcinogenesis and also recognizes significant contributions by others in the field.

This year’s Award was presented to Professor Karen E Knudsen from the Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University. Her postdoctoral studies focused on the cross talk between androgen receptor signaling and proliferative control mechanisms in prostate cancer, and she was first to discover that interplay between hormone receptor networks and the cell cycle machinery is frequently perturbed in prostate cancer, and promotes loss of proliferative control. She was recruited to the NCI-designated Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in 2007, where she is a Professor of Cancer Biology, Urology, and Radiation Oncology. Recent pivotal findings from her group relate to critical co-factors that drive castrate resistant prostate cancer, novel therapeutic targets for treatment, and intricate mechanisms which impinge on androgen receptor function that contribute to the lethality of disease. Most recently, her group has provided seminal evidence that the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor pathway plays a critical role in the progression of prostate cancer that could be exploited to more efficiently treat advanced disease.