Dana-Farber Cancer Institute faculty recognized as 2019 ASCO leaders in cancer care

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recognized three Dana-Farber Cancer Institute  researchers as winners of ASCO's Special Awards, the Society’s highest honors. The recipients of these awards have worked to transform cancer care around the world.

Among the recipients:

ASCO-American Cancer Society Award and Lecture 
Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH, FASCO, is the Susan F. Smith Chair and chief of the Division of Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She conducts research in clinical cancer genetics, with a focus on breast cancer genetics. Dr. Garber is a leader in research on treatment and prevention of inherited breast and other inherited cancers, and an expert on Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. Her translational research focuses on the evaluation of novel agents targeting DNA repair defects in breast cancer.  Dr. Garber is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Association of Physicians, a Fellow of the AACR Academy and a Fellow of ASCO. 

Ellen L. Stovall Award and Lecture for Advancement of Cancer Survivorship Care
Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, FASCO, is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and vice chair of medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where she serves as director of the Adult Survivorship Program and leads the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer. She established and serves as principal investigator for the Young Women’s Breast Cancer Study (YWS). Dr. Partridge and her team have characterized a range of issues of young breast cancer survivors, including the impact of treatment on fertility, adherence with hormonal therapy, psychological adaptation to the diagnosis including impact of treatment on sexual functioning, and the factors that play an important role in patient decision-making. More recently, she has collaborated to develop and study interventions to improve outcomes in young adult cancer survivors and worked with basic investigators to identify molecular differences in tumors found in young patients and potential biomarkers of long-term effects. Dr. Partridge is a Fellow of ASCO and recipient of this year’s AACR Outstanding Investigator Award for Breast Cancer Research. 

Distinguished Achievement Award
Robert J. Mayer, MD, FASCO, is faculty vice president for academic affairs at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, senior physician at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, and the Stephen B. Kay Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, where he is also faculty associate dean for admissions. Dr. Mayer established the Center for Gastrointestinal Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and directed the Institute's Medical Oncology Fellowship Program for more than 30 years, overseeing the training of several hundred oncologists. He served as an Associate Editor for the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Oncology and as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Board of Internal Medicine.  Dr. Mayer is a past president of ASCO, was instrumental in the development of the Society’s Grants Awards Program and Leadership Development Program and continues as a long-term member of the Board of Directors of ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation.

ASCO will recognize their achievements at the ASCO 2019 annual meeting, held May 31-June 4 in Chicago, Il.