The 24th Annual Awards Dinner of the Cancer Research Institute is a black-tie gala to honor outstanding contributions to scientific research and medicine and to acknowledge service in advancing cancer research and awareness.
This year’s dinner, held the evening of June 16, 2010, at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City, celebrated top American fashion designer Michael Kors, who received the 2010 Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer Research for his commitment to promoting awareness and raising funds for cancer research. Also receiving the 2010 Grace Award was Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. The dinner also featured presentations of the William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumor Immunology to three scientists—Haruo Ohtani, Wolf Hervé Fridman, and Jérôme Galon—whose seminal contributions to tumor immunology have significantly advanced the development of immune system-based treatments for cancer, especially T-cell based therapeutic cancer vaccines. The evening raised $721,000 for CRI's programs.
2010 Oliver R. Grace Award for Distinguished Service in Advancing Cancer Research
This annual award recognizes the contributions of exceptionally dedicated individuals whose leadership has had significant impact on medical research, patient care, or public education.
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Fashion designer Michael Kors received the Cancer Research Institute 2010 Oliver R. Grace Award in celebration of his charitable contributions. Mr. Kors is the leading American fashion designer for luxury accessories and sportswear and is known as a celebrity judge on the hit TV show Project Runway. His support of Saks Fifth Avenue’s Key to the Cure campaign and other cancer causes, as well as his commitment to supporting research and awareness for HIV/AIDS and other immune-related diseases, including diabetes and lupus, together embody the spirit of this prestigious award. |
.jpg?n=5182 "Andrew Witty 2010 Grace Award Winner") |
Andrew Witty, chief executive officer of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, received the Cancer Research Institute 2010 Oliver R. Grace Award in honor of his company’s many important contributions to the development and delivery of new immune-based therapies to combat infectious diseases and cancer, and for GSK’s world-leading efforts to research and develop a new class of immune-based cancer therapeutics. |
2010 William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Tumor Immunology
This award is given to one or more scientists for outstanding achievements in the field of basic immunology and cancer immunology. Awardees receive an honorary medal and $5,000 prize. The award was established in 1975 in honor of Dr. William B. Coley, a pioneer of cancer immunotherapy, whose daughter, Helen Coley Nauts, founded CRI. This year, the Coley Award was bestowed jointly upon three outstanding scientists for their fundamental contributions to our understanding of the prognostic significance of infiltrating T lymphocytes in cancer patients.
Haruo Ohtani
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Haruo Ohtani, M.D., director of the Department of Pathology at Mito Medical Center, National Hospital Organization, in Ibaraki, Japan, received the 2010 William B. Coley Award for his pioneering studies of the host-tumor microenvironment in patients with colorectal cancer, which provided the first evidence for tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) as significant prognostic factors in human cancer.
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Wolf Hervé Fridman
Jérôme Galon
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Wolf Hervé Fridman, M.D., Ph.D., professor of immunology and vice dean for research, Medical School Paris Descartes; director of the Cordeliers Research Centre, Paris; and head of the Service of Immunology, Hospital European Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, along with colleague Jérôme Galon, Ph.D., research director for INSERM and head of the Integrative Cancer Immunology Laboratory at Cordeliers Research Center in Paris, jointly received the 2010 William B. Coley Award for their groundbreaking studies demonstrating that the “immune contexture”—including the functionality, location, and density of immune infiltrate in colorectal tumors—is a major prognostic factor for human cancers. |
Joan Allen
Alex Witt
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Three-time Academy Award nominee Joan Allen presented the Grace Award to Michael Kors. CRI trustee Paul J. Sekhri will present the Grace Award to Mr. Witty.
Kunle Odunsi, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman, Department of Gynecologic Oncology; co-leader of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy CCSG Program; and director, Center for Immunotherapy at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY, presented the Coley Award to Dr. Ohtani.
Robert D. Schreiber, Ph.D., alumni endowed professor of pathology and immunology and professor of molecular microbiology in the Immunology Program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, presented the Coley Award to Drs. Fridman and Galon is
MSNBC anchor and correspondent Alex Witt emceed the event.
For more information about the dinner, contact Lynne Harmer, director of special events, at events@cancerresearch.org.
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News Releases
2010 Grace Award Winners Announced (March 15, 2010)
2010 Coley Award Winners Announced (June 7, 2010)
Media Contact:
Brian M. Brewer, bbrewer@cancerresearch.org
Office: +(212) 688-7515, ext. 242
Mobile: +(917) 676-0871
Limited admission for credentialed members of the press is available -- RSVP required.