AACR Timeline—A New Era of Expansion: 1982-1999

1982

• Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), is appointed executive director (CEO), in addition to her positions as managing editor and publisher.

• The inaugural Bruce F. Cain Memorial Award is presented to John A. Montgomery. The final Cain Award is presented in 2006.
• The offices of Cancer Research and AACR Inc., are consolidated at the Fels Institute, Temple University, Philadelphia, the first official AACR headquarters.

1983

• Commercial exhibits are introduced at the Annual Meeting.
• The first AACR Newsletter is published.
• CME is offered for the AACR Annual Meeting.

1985

• The Annual Meeting is held in a convention center (Houston, Texas) for the first time.
• The Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Awards are established.

1988

• Women in Cancer Research (WICR) is launched.
• The first AACR Special Conference is held: Gene Regulation and Oncogenes, Phillip A. Sharp, Chairperson.
• AACR retains a firm to provide representation in Washington, D.C.
• An Associate Member category for early-career scientists is established.
• AACR headquarters moves to the Penn Mutual Tower, 6th and Walnut Streets,
  Philadelphia. A building fire causes a subsequent move.

1989

• AACR membership surpasses 5,000.

1990

• The Association launches Cell Growth & Differentiation, the first new AACR journal since Cancer Research. George F. Vande Woude, PhD, is the inaugural editor.
• AACR headquarters moves to the Public Ledger Building, 6th and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia.

1991

• The Association launches its third journal, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Pelayo Correa, MD, is the inaugural editor.

1992

• The inaugural AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention is presented to Pelayo Correa, MD.
• The first AACR Workshop, Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology, is held in Aspen, Colorado.
• The first Joint Meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association and AACR is held.

1993

• The inaugural AACR-Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award is presented to Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD. The Elion award is now a career development grant.

1994

• The AACR and ASCO cease holding Annual Meetings back-to-back in the same location.

1995

• The association launches its fourth journal, Clinical Cancer Research.
  John Mendelsohn, MD, is the inaugural editor-in-chief.

• AACR membership surpasses 10,000.

1996

• The Special Program for High School Students is launched at the Annual Meeting.
• The first AACR website is launched.
• Proceedings of the Annual Meeting is offered on CD-ROM.

• The inaugural AACR-Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Cancer Research is presented to Samuel A. Wells Jr.
• The inaugural AACR-DeWitt S. Goodman Memorial Lecture is delivered by David J. Mangelsdorf. (The lectureship is suspended in 2005.)

1997

• The AACR-Thomas J. Bardos Science Education Awards for Undergraduates are established.
• The first Public Forum, Progress and New Hope in the Fight Against Cancer, is held.
• The AACR Fund Development department is established.

1998

• The inaugural AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lecture is delivered by Frances M. Visco.

• The inaugural Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research is presented to Anthony J. Pawson, PhD.

• On September 25-26, AACR participates in “THE MARCH: Coming Together to Conquer Cancer,” which culminates in a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. THE MARCH Research Task Force Report is published in Cancer Research.

1999

• The inaugural Scientist-Survivor Program takes place at the Annual Meeting,
  March 28-April 1.
• The Molecular Epidemiology Working Group (later renamed the Population Sciences Working Group) is established.
• The AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics is launched.