American Association for Cancer Research

American Association for Cancer Research
Formation1907 (1907)
HeadquartersPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Membership
More than 42,000
Official language
English
Staff
More than 230
Websiteaacr.org

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and translational research into the etiology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Founded in 1907 by 11 physicians and scientists, the organization now has more than 42,000 members in over 120 countries. The mission of the AACR is to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research.

History

The AACR was founded on May 7, 1907 in Washington, DC as the "Association for Cancer Research" by a group of scientists consisting of four surgeons, five pathologists, and two biochemists. The founding members were Silas P. Beebe, George H. A. Clowes, William Coley, James Ewing, Harvey R. Gaylord, Robert B. Greenough, J. Collins Warren, George W. Crile, Leo Loeb, Frank Burr Mallory, and Ernest E. Tyzzer. They organized annual meetings to coincide with the meetings for the much larger meetings of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists. At the first meeting in New York City in November 1907, nine papers were presented. For the first 30 years, the group functioned as a select group of scientists, but with the expansion of cancer research in the 1930s, membership and interest grew. The society was officially incorporated in 1940.[1]

Meetings and workshops

Vice President Joe Biden speaking at the 2016 AACR annual meeting about the Cancer Moonshot project.

Annual Meeting

The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 21,000 participants from around the world and has been described as the "main forum to present and discuss cancer-related research."[2] Attendees gather to discuss over 6,000 abstracts and to hear more than 250 invited presentations on significant discoveries in basic, clinical, and translational cancer research. Scientific award lectures, grant writing workshops, networking events, and educational sessions round out this comprehensive program.

Conferences and Educational Workshops

In addition to the Annual Meeting, the AACR organizes approximately 30 other conferences and workshops each year,[3] including:

  • Smaller, more focused Special Conferences that are designed to share the latest advances in rapidly developing areas of cancer research;
  • Larger International Conferences that recur on a regular basis, including collaborative programs such as the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Conference, the International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference, and the Biennial Meeting on Advances in Malignant Lymphoma;
  • Educational Workshops that train early-career investigators in clinical trial design, molecular biology, integrative molecular epidemiology, translational research, and related fields.

Publications

The AACR publishes nine peer-reviewed scientific journals: Blood Cancer Discovery, Cancer Discovery, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Cancer Immunology Research, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Molecular Cancer Research, Cancer Prevention Research and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The AACR also publishes Cancer Today, a magazine for cancer patients, survivors, and their families and friends, as well as an Annual Report, and CR which aims to foster collaboration between cancer survivors, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

Cancer Research

Cancer Research is the second most-frequently cited cancer journal in the world.[4] Papers are peer-reviewed, and only those that meet high standards of scientific merit are accepted for publication. The journal publishes significant, original studies, reviews, and perspectives on all areas of basic, clinical, translational, epidemiological, and prevention research in cancer and the cancer-related biomedical sciences. Some of the topics include biochemistry; chemical, physical, and viral carcinogenesis and mutagenesis; clinical research including clinical trials; endocrinology; epidemiology and prevention; experimental therapeutics, molecular targets, and chemical biology; immunology and immunotherapy including biological therapy; molecular biology, pathobiology, and genetics; radiobiology and radiation oncology; cell and tumor biology; tumor microenvironment; systems biology and other emerging technologies.

Cancer Discovery

The AACR launched Cancer Discovery in 2011 as a selective journal for basic, translational, and clinical cancer research.[5] Cancer Discovery has become a premier journal in the field of cancer research, with a 2020 impact factor of 39.397 that is the highest among the AACR journals.[6][7] Research published in the journal includes identification of actionable genomic alterations in cancer, mechanisms of therapy resistance, clinical trials on targeted therapy, and cancer immunotherapy research including immune checkpoint blockade and Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.[8]

The AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer

The AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer is a 501(c)(3) public charity that provides financial support for scientific research, education, and communication. The foundation funds programs deemed by the AACR to be of the highest priority and impact in promoting research, supporting scientists, and raising awareness. Eighty-eight cents of every dollar raised by the AACR Foundation directly supports cancer research.

Presidents

The names of the presidents from 1907–1960 were reported by Triolo in 1961.[1][9]

YearNameInstitution
2021 David Tuveson Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
2020 Antoni Ribas David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
2019 Elaine R. Mardis Nationwide Children’s Hospital
2018 Elizabeth M. Jaffee Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
2017 Michael A. Caliguiri, MD City of Hope
2016 Nancy E. Davidson, MD University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2015 Jose Baselga, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2014 Carlos Arteaga, MD Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
2013 Charles L. Sawyers, MD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2012 Frank McCormick, PhD Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
2011 Judy E. Garber, MD, MPH Dana Farber Cancer Institute
2010 Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD Salk Institute for Biological Studies
2009 Tyler Jacks, PhD David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
2008 Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
2007 William N. Hait, MD, PhD UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
2006 Geoffrey M. Wahl, PhD Salk Institute for Biological Studies
2005 Peter A. Jones, PhD, DSc USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
2004 Lynn M. Matrisian, PhD Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
2003 Karen H. Antman, MD Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
2002 Susan Band Horwitz, PhD Albert Einstein College of Medicine
2001 Waun Ki Hong, MD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
2000 Tom Curran, PhD St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
1999 Daniel Von Hoff, MD University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
1998 Webster K. Cavenee, PhD University of California, San Diego
1997 Donald S. Coffey, PhD Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
1996 Louise C. Strong, MD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
1995 Joseph R. Bertino, MD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1994 Edward Bresnick, PhD
1993 Margaret L. Kripke
1992 Lee W. Wattenberg
1991 Harold L. Moses
1990 I. Bernard Weinstein
1989 Harris Busch
1988 Lawrence A. Loeb
1987 Enrico Mihich
1986 Alan C. Sartorelli
1985 Arthur B. Pardee
1984 Isaiah J. Fidler
1983 Gertrude B. Elion
1982 Gerald C. Mueller
1981 Sidney Weinhouse
1980 Bayard D. Clarkson
1979 Paul P. Carbone
1978 Hugh J. Creech
1977 C. Gordon Zubrod
1976 Elizabeth C. Miller
1975 Charlotte Friend
1974 Van R. Potter
1973 Michael B. Shimkin
1972 Emmanuel Farber
1971 Emil Frei III
1970 James F. Holland
1969 Abraham Cantarow
1968 Chester M. Southam
1967 Lloyd W. Law
1966 Henry S. Kaplan
1965 Joseph H. Burchenal
1964 Paul C. Zamecnik
1963 Arthur C. Upton
1962 Alfred Gellhorn
1961 Thelma B. Dunn
1960 Murray J. Shear
1959 Theodore S. Hauschka
1958 Harold L. Stewart
1957 Jacob Furth
1956 Albert Tannenbaum
1955 Howard B. Andervont
1954 Austin M. Brues
1953 Harold P. Rusch
1952 Stanley P. Reimann
1951 Paul E. Steiner
1950 Edmund V. Cowdry
1949 Joseph C. Aub
1948 Charles Huggins
1947 John J. Bittner
1946 William U. Gardner
1945 Shields Warren
1944 Shields Warren
1943 Shields Warren
1942 Shields Warren
1941 Carl Voegtlin
1940 Burton T. Simpson
1939 Clarence C. Little
1938 George H.A. Clowes
1937 James Ewing
1936 William H. Woglom
1935 Elexious T. Bell
1934 Millard C. Marsh
1933 Ward J. MacNeal
1932 Edward B. Krumbhaar
1931 Francis Carter Wood
1930 Clarence C. Little
1929 Frank B. Mallory
1928 J.F. Schamberg
1927 Aldred Scott Warthin
1926 Burton T. Simpson
1925 Channing Simmons
1924 Erwin F. Smith
1923 William Duane
1922 Willy Meyer
1921 James B. Murphy
1920 Robert B. Greenough
1919 H. Gideon Wells
1918 Edwin R. LeCount
1917 Francis Carter Wood
1916 Harvey R. Gaylord
1915 H. Gideon Wells
1914 S. Burt Wolbach
1913 Gary N. Calkins
1912 Ernest E. Tyzzer Harvard University School of Medicine
1911 Leo Loeb
1910 Frank B. Mallory
1909 Harvey R. Gaylord
1908 James Ewing
1907 James Ewing

Funding Programs

Since establishing its grant program in 1993, the AACR has awarded more than $425 million in funding to more than 800 scientists for cancer research projects that aim to advance the understanding and treatment of cancer.[10] AACR grants support researchers, both domestically and abroad, at every career stage, from fellowships to career development awards to major grants for independent investigators.

The AACR is the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, a groundbreaking movement to accelerate innovative cancer research, get new therapies to patients quickly, and save lives.

Awards and Fellows

The AACR honors scientists and clinicians who have made significant contributions to the understanding of the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer through the presentation of 17 Scientific Achievement Awards and Lectureships.[11]

The AACR Academy was established in 2013 to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose major scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer and advanced the mission of the AACR to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, and collaboration. A new class of Fellows of the AACR Academy is inducted each year at the AACR Annual Meeting.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Triolo, VA; Riegel, IL (February 1961). "The American Association for Cancer Research, 1907-1940. Historical review". Cancer Research. 21 (2): 137–67. PMID 13778091.open access
  2. ↑ John F. Wong (2008-06-15). "Turning Research into Viable Cancer Drugs". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. pp. 56, 58–59. Retrieved 2008-07-06. The "Annual Meeting for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)" is widely viewed by scientists as the main forum to present and discuss cancer-related research.
  3. ↑ "Meetings and Conferences Calendar | AACR".
  4. ↑ "About Cancer Research - Cancer Research". cancerres.aacrjournals.org.
  5. ↑ "A Discussion with Cancer Discovery's Editors-in-Chief". AACR.
  6. ↑ "Cancer Discovery". 2020 Journal Citation Reports. Web of Science (Science ed.). Clarivate Analytics. 2021.
  7. ↑ "Publications - Impact Factor". AACR.
  8. ↑ Diaz LA, Cantley LC (2021). "A Decade of Cancer Discovery". Cancer Discov. 11 (4): 795–797. doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-0082. PMID 33619209.
  9. ↑ "Presidents of the AACR".
  10. ↑ "AACR Funding Home Page".
  11. ↑ "AACR Awards Home Page".

Further reading

  • Westwell, Andrew D. (August 2005). "The war on cancer: an end in sight?". Drug Discovery Today. Conference report. Vol. 10, no. 16. AACR 2005 Annual Meeting, Anaheim, California. pp. 1082–1083. doi:10.1016/S1359-6446(05)03529-4.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
This article is issued from Offline. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.