American Brain Tumor Association to Present 2016 Joel A. Gingras, Jr. Award to E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD

CHICAGO, July 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) has named E. Antonio (Nino) Chiocca, MD, PhD, the recipient of its 2016 Joel A. Gingras, Jr. Award. The ABTA will present the award to Dr. Chiocca at its annual meeting dinner on Friday, July 29 at the Westin O'Hare Hotel in Chicago. 

The award was established in 2010 for the Joel A. Gingras, Jr. Memorial Foundation, which has raised more than $1.7 million for the American Brain Tumor Association since 1989. It is given annually to an individual, organization or group that through philanthropy, advocacy, discovery or patient care, has made a major impact on the ability of the ABTA to achieve its mission.

Dr. Chiocca received his first brain tumor research grant from the ABTA in the early 1990s. A strong supporter of the ABTA throughout his career, Dr. Chiocca has served as a member of the ABTA Scientific Advisory Council since 2000. He has also mentored five early-career scientists who were awarded ABTA fellowships and who remain active in the brain tumor medical and scientific field.

"Dr. Chiocca's career is an example of the promise and preeminence afforded a generation of early-career scientists through the ABTA's research fellowship program – a program that the Joel A. Gingras, Jr. Memorial Foundation has supported for more than 25 years," said Elizabeth M. Wilson, president and CEO, American Brain Tumor Association. "We are thankful to the Foundation for enabling us to support and foster just such a career."

Dr. Chiocca is currently the chair of the Department of Neurosurgery and co-director of the Institute for the Neurosciences at Brigham and Women's, and Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospitals. He is also the Harvey W. Cushing professor of Neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School and surgical director at the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Previously, Dr. Chiocca was chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Dardinger Family Professor of Oncologic Neurosurgery at The Ohio State University. He is currently president of the Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO) and a member of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Medicine.

The ABTA annual meeting dinner is being held in conjunction with the organization's National Patient & Family Conference July 29-30. For more information about the conference, contact the ABTA at 800-886-2282 (ABTA) or email [email protected].

ABOUT THE AMERICAN BRAIN TUMOR ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association was the first and is the only national patient advocacy organization committed to funding brain tumor research and providing support and education programs for people of all tumor types and all ages. Visit www.abta.org to learn more. 

CONTACT: 
Phung Tran
[email protected]
773-577-8792 

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150901/262855LOGO

SOURCE American Brain Tumor Association