Raul Ribeiro, M.D., Honored for International Work in Childhood Cancer Research and Treatment

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital physician receives the Paul P. Carbone Award in International Oncology from the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research for his efforts to improve childhood cancer survival rates across the globe

MEMPHIS, Tenn., April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Raul Ribeiro, M.D., of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, has received the Paul P. Carbone Award in International Oncology from the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR). The honor recognizes outstanding contributions to oncology or cancer research in one or more developing countries by an individual from a resource-rich country.

INCTR is a non-profit organization established to assist in controlling cancer in developing countries through the development of infrastructure for cancer treatment and research. Ribeiro accepted the award this week at INCTR's biennial meeting in Brussels.

Ribeiro leads several patient care and research efforts at St. Jude, an institution internationally recognized for its pioneering research and treatment of children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. He is the director of the hospital's International Outreach Program, an initiative to share knowledge, technology and organizational skills worldwide in order to help increase childhood cancer cure rates. Since taking the program's helm in 1997, Ribeiro has helped establish partnerships with 19 medical institutions in 14 countries. He is also the Leukemia/Lymphoma Division director, the St. Jude Cancer Center's Outreach Program associate director and a member of the Oncology department.

"Dr. Ribeiro has dedicated his life to the fight against childhood cancer," said Joseph Laver, M.D., St. Jude clinical director and executive vice president. "He is tireless in his mission and his efforts have improved survival rates of children with cancer around the globe."

In 2002, Ribeiro led development of Cure4Kids (www.Cure4Kids.org), a free, online resource for continued education about catastrophic childhood illnesses. The site promotes collaborative work spaces; training for better management of patient information; and online meetings for consultation and discussions of critical issues related to pediatric oncology and hematology. Today, the effort has thousands of registered users in more than 175 countries.

Ribeiro is also a founding trustee of World Child Cancer and actively participates in the development of multiple international projects to promote cancer treatment in areas with poor resources and to improve the survival rates of children with cancer globally.

Aside from his work in developing countries, Ribeiro's research interests include acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and adrenocortical carcinoma, an extremely rare childhood cancer. Additionally, Ribeiro and his colleagues created the International Pediatric Adrenocortical Tumor Registry, which has resulted in a better understanding of these tumors and the implementation of a multi-institutional treatment program.

Ribeiro has been an invited speaker at many universities, research institutions and international symposia and has authored numerous book chapters and articles.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering research and treatment of children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Ranked the No. 1 pediatric cancer hospital by Parents magazine and the No. 1 children's cancer hospital by U.S. News & World Report, St. Jude is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world, serving as a trusted resource for physicians and researchers. St. Jude has developed research protocols that helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent when the hospital opened to almost 80 percent today. St. Jude is the national coordinating center for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium and the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. In addition to pediatric cancer research, St. Jude is also a leader in sickle cell disease research and is a globally prominent research center for influenza.

Founded in 1962 by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world, publishing more research articles than any other pediatric cancer research center in the United States. St. Jude treats more than 5,700 patients each year and is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. St. Jude is financially supported by thousands of individual donors, organizations and corporations without which the hospital's work would not be possible. For more information, go to www.stjude.org.

SOURCE St. Jude Children's Research Hospital