AACR Past-president Carlos Arteaga to Receive Prestigious Medical Award
Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, past-president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), has been selected to receive the 2015 Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine from the American-Italian Cancer Foundation (AICF).
Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, immediate past-president of the AACR.
Arteaga is professor of medicine and cancer biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he holds the Donna S. Hall chair in breast cancer research. He serves as associate director for translational/clinical research; director of the Breast Cancer Program; and director of the Center for Cancer Targeted Therapies at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as president of the AACR from 2014 to 2015, and in April 2015 was inducted as a Fellow of the AACR Academy. Since 2009, he has co-chaired the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
Arteaga will receive the award at the 35th Annual AICF Benefit Dinner on November 10, 2015, at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York. The following day, Arteaga and his fellow honoree, Frederick Alt, PhD, of Boston Children’s Hospital, will give presentations on their work at a research symposium at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Much of Arteaga’s research has focused on the development of targeted cancer therapies for breast cancer. Recently, he has been examining the role of presurgical and neoadjuvant trials in discovering molecular biomarkers that inform patient selection in clinical trials. His work also examines mechanisms of drug resistance in breast cancer. Arteaga’s research has significant implications for the development of novel clinical trials for breast cancer patients.
Recently, Arteaga moderated a briefing on Capitol Hill about precision medicine in cancer. He is a frequent champion of young researchers, arguing that funding their work is essential to future breakthroughs in cancer research. During his tenure as president of the AACR, he was involved in the creation and release of the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2014, which highlighted advances in cancer research and asked the government to increase funding for future research.
The AICF is a nonprofit organization that supports cancer research and education, emphasizing partnerships between Italy and the United States. The group serves economically disadvantaged, medically underserved women in New York City through programs including a free mobile mammography clinic.
The AICF’s Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine was established in 1984 to recognize groundbreaking discoveries in cancer biology, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment. The AACR congratulates Arteaga on this award.
