PHILADELPHIA – February 18, 2015 – Robert Eisenman, Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has been named a fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy.
Eisenman was recognized by the AACR Academy for his ongoing research into mechanisms that regulate cell proliferation, growth and differentiation, and how this regulation is subverted during cancer growth.
Eisenman joins 10 others in the prestigious academy this year that recognizes people who have made significant contributions to cancer research. Only individuals whose work has had a major and long-lasting impact on the field are eligible for election as an AACR fellow.
Election as an AACR Academy fellow is an honor bestowed upon AACR members through a rigorous peer-review process that involves an assessment of each candidate on the basis of his or her scientific achievements in cancer research and cancer-related biomedical science.
“Our 2015 class of fellows includes 11 luminaries in the field of cancer research, in honor of the 11 founders of the AACR in 1907. We are delighted to recognize the incredible scientific accomplishments of these illustrious researchers and celebrate how their dedicated efforts have helped accelerate the pace of progress against many of the hundreds of diseases we collectively call cancer,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D., chief executive officer of the AACR.
Eisenman has been a member of Fred Hutch Basic Sciences Division faculty since 1976. He is also an affiliate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine. His other honors include being an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the recipient of the Kirk A. Landon Prize for Basic Cancer Research from the AACR.
"Bob is being recognized for his amazing career studying the Myc proteins, which contribute to a multitude of human cancers, from Burkitt's lymphoma to ovarian cancer, and from breast cancer to neuroblastoma,” said Jonathan Cooper, Ph.D., director of the Basic Sciences Division at Fred Hutch. “Bob was the first to show that an oncoprotein can cause cancer from the cell nucleus by regulating gene expression, and continues to do fantastic work on Myc's role in cancer cell metabolism."
Eisenman joins Fred Hutch President Emeritus and Nobel Laureate Leland Hartwell, Ph.D., who had previously been named to the academy.
The AACR will formally induct its 2015 class of elected fellows at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015, to be held April 18-22 in Philadelphia.
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