Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, and Andrea Schietinger, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) is pleased to announce that Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, President and Chief Executive Officer of MSK, and Andrea Schietinger, PhD, Associate Member of the Immunology Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute will be honored at the 2023 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting for their significant contributions to cancer research and care.
Dr. Vickers, Dr. Schietinger, and other MSK physicians and scientists will join members of the global cancer research community to present the latest advances at the 2023 AACR Annual Meeting on April 14–19 in Orlando, Florida.
Dr. Vickers will receive the 2023 AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship. This award recognizes an outstanding scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research and, through leadership or by example, supported the careers of minority investigators in cancer research. Dr. Vickers is an internationally recognized pancreatic cancer surgeon and researcher, a pioneer in cancer health disparities research, and an academic medical leader. He is being celebrated for his work furthering our understanding of metastatic pancreatic cancer and helping to develop treatments, such as the drug Minnelide™, which is currently used in phase 2 clinical trials to treat pancreatic and gastrointestinal cancers. He is also recognized for his efforts to deepen our understanding of cancer health disparities and provide meaningful solutions. Dr. Vickers’ award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 16, 2023, at ET.
Dr. Schietinger will receive the 2023 AACR-Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lectureship Award for her unparalleled scientific contributions to the field of immunology. The award acknowledges an individual for their outstanding personal innovation in science and whose position as a thought leader has the potential to inspire creative thinking and new directions in cancer research. Dr. Schietinger’s lab at SKI investigates why immune cells sometimes fail to recognize tumors or become overactive in the case of autoimmune diseases. AACR is honoring her work uncovering the fundamental cellular processes that lead to immune evasion of cancer cells, including the molecular programs that determine why immune cells tolerate or destroy tumors or healthy tissues. This research has led to the development of innovative strategies for molecular and immune-based targeted therapies for cancer. Dr. Schietinger’s award lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, at ET.
In addition, four MSK researchers have been recognized as 2022-2023 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) research grant recipients. Each year, the AACR awards grants to support hundreds of scientists devoted to advancing the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. This year’s MSK grantees include:
2023 AACR Fellowship to Further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cancer Research
- Madelyn Espinosa-Cotton, PhD, of the Nai-Kong Cheung Lab, “Bispecific Antibody-Based Immunotherapy and Radioimmunotherapy for Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors”
2023 AACR-D-Team Sarcoma Research Fellowship
- Chen Khuan Wong, PhD, of the Yu Chen Lab, “Dissecting MYC-Mediated Tumorigenesis and Plasticity in Angiosarcoma”
2023 AACR-John and Elizabeth Leonard Family Foundation Basic Cancer Research Fellowship
- Ana Rita Nobre, PhD, of the Adrienne Boire Lab, “Unveiling the Re-Programming of Choroid Plexus and Leptomeningeal Metastasis”
2021 AACR-Bristol Myers Squibb Midcareer Female Investigator Grant
- Andrea Schietinger, PhD, Associate Member, Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, “Targeting Molecular Drivers of T Cell Dysfunction for Cancer Immunotherapy”
For more information and to set up interviews, contact Nick Gardner, Media Relations, at gardnern@mskcc.org or 917-843-3834.
Follow the meeting live on Twitter using the hashtag #AACR23 and follow MSK on Twitter at @MSKCancerCenter.
