The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation's Fourth Annual 'Addario Lectureship Award" Announced

Award to Recognize Luminaries in the Quest to Eradicate Lung Cancer

SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF) today announced the winner of the 2011 Addario Lectureship Award, which each year recognizes luminaries in the quest to eradicate Lung Cancer. The recipient will be honored at the 12th International Lung Cancer Congress in Carlsbad, California to be held on August 11-14, 2011.

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2011 Addario Lectureship Award —The recipient of the 2011 Addario Lectureship award is William Pao, MD, PhD. Dr. Pao is a physician-scientist with a special interest in thoracic oncology. Dr. Pao's research focuses on identification of genes involved in the pathogenesis of lung tumors and stratifying tumors into clinically relevant molecular subsets. Using information derived from these experiments, Dr. Pao seeks to improve treatment for patients with non-small cell Lung Cancer. His research has yielded important insights into mechanisms of lung tumor sensitivity and resistance to inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). 

Dr. Pao is the author of over 50 publications, is actively involved in numerous professional associations including the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and has served as a journal editor for PLoS Medicine, Cancer Research, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Research Specialty
The Pao Laboratory, at the School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, aims to perform translational research in the area of solid tumor biology, using Lung Cancer as a paradigm. The overall goal is to develop molecularly-tailored treatments for patients with Lung Cancer. As further recognition of his many contributions to the field, the Fourth Annual Addario Lectureship Award belongs to Dr. Pao not only for his tireless efforts and brilliant strategies to advance BJALCF's mission to increase the survival of Lung Cancer, but also for his focus on discovering and elucidating other mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to EGFR inhibitors in Lung Cancer. Dr. Pao recently showed that in drug-sensitive mutant Lung Cancer cells, induction of the BH3-only polypeptide BIM (also known as BCL2-like 11) is essential for apoptosis (cell death) triggered by EGFR inhibitors.

What does Dr. Pao's Work Mean for BJALCF Patients?
Dr. Pao is relentlessly seeking to identify ways to overcome resistance to gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva) and crizotinib for ALK fusion positive patients. For patients with today's advanced-stage Lung Cancer, these three drugs have often been called the "miracle drugs." In laymen's terms, these miracle drugs inevitably stop working at some point, and hope for continued survival runs out. Dr. Pao is on a fast track working to overcome acquired resistance to these drugs and to extend life even further. In concert with the vision of BJALCF and its founder, Bonnie J. Addario, "On behalf of all of our patients, we believe Dr. Pao is a strategist concentrating each and every day on Round 2 in the boxing match against Lung Cancer. We are encouraged by the hope Pao's research exhibits for breakthrough success in the longest boxing match—which according to history has gone 110 rounds, in 1893. May Lung Cancer become too exhausted to continue. We'll take Round 2, for now."

2008 Recipient: Paul A. Bunn, Jr. MD, Principal Investigator and Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center
2009 Recipient: Harvey Pass, MD, BA, Director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Chief of Thoracic Surgery, New York University Medical Center
2010 Recipient: David R. Gandara, MD, Associate Director, Clinical Research, UC Davis Cancer Center

About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF)
BJALCF is THE patient-founded, patient-focused voice relentlessly working to increase the survival of Lung Cancer worldwide through early detection, awareness and funding for research. BJALCF was established in 2006 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and has raised over six million dollars for Lung Cancer Research. www.lungcancerfoundation.org

SOURCE Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation