Pezcoller foundation-AACR international award for extraordinary achievements in cancer research Lecture
Time: 12:00 a.m.
Venue: Polo Ferrari Povo 1, room A104
2018 RECIPIENT
Tony Hunter, PhD
American Cancer Society Professor
Renato Dulbecco Chair
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
University of California, San Diego, USA
The 2018 Award recipient, prof. Tony Hunter, is recognized or his 1979 discovery of a mechanism called tyrosine phosphorylation, which is a molecular switch that turns normal cells cancerous. The breakthrough led to a new type of cancer pharmaceutical, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This class of drugs has revolutionized the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia with the game-changing therapy Gleevec, and also is of great benefit in several other forms of cancer. Hunter’s work has led to a complete catalogue of the 90 human genes that encode tyrosine kinases, over half of which have become targets for the development of drugs to treat cancer and other human diseases. Currently, 31 tyrosine kinase inhibitors are FDA approved for human therapy, with many more in clinical trials.
THE PEZCOLLER FOUNDATION
Is a non-profit organization created in 1980 by Prof. Alessio Pezcoller (1896 - 1993) Chief Surgeon of Santa Chiara Hospital of Trento, Italy. The goal of the Foundation is to promote biomedical research in the field of cancer.
THE AACR
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer.