Margaret Foti receives inaugural AACR award for cancer research

Apr 12 2007

The Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research is pleased to honor Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.) with the first annual AACR Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research.

Dr. Foti is Chief Executive Officer of the AACR; Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Executive Officer of the AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer; and Managing Editor of Cancer Research, the most highly cited cancer research journal in the world.

Recognized for her extraordinary leadership of the AACR and her sustained dedication to the conquest of cancer through research, scholarly publications, communication, science education and training, and public education, the Board of Directors chose to perpetuate her leadership qualities by establishing an award in Dr. Foti's honor. Subsequent awards in her name will honor exemplary leaders in the field of cancer research.

"Dr. Foti's dedication and incredible passion for conquering cancer are well known and held in high esteem in the Association as well as globally," said Peter A. Jones, Ph.D., D.Sc., AACR past president. "Although she does not seek the limelight, preferring to let others receive recognition, the Board of Directors of the AACR is pleased to honor Dr. Foti for her leadership and achievements in cancer research."

Dr. Foti joined the AACR in 1965 as Editorial Assistant for Cancer Research, under the editorship of her first mentor, Michael B. Shimkin, M.D. She was rapidly promoted to the position of Managing Editor of the journal in 1969, becoming the youngest Managing Editor of a major scientific journal in the country.

Progressing through several key management roles in scientific publishing, Dr. Foti became the first Executive Director of the AACR in 1982. Since then, she successfully launched the next four high-quality journals of the AACR: Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; and Molecular Cancer Research—all of which are prestigious publications in the cancer field, contributing over 26,000 pages to the scientific literature every year.

Seeking to bring increased innovation to the arena of scientific presentation and exchange, Dr. Foti created the AACR Special Conference series that has grown to feature more than ten special conferences a year in the U.S. and several more around the globe. She led the effort to develop the AACR Annual Meeting into the premier international cancer meeting in the world for the presentation of high-quality basic, translational, clinical and epidemiological cancer research. Under Dr. Foti's leadership, the AACR has grown to more than 25,000 members in more than 70 countries worldwide and serves tens of thousands more in the world cancer community. During her tenure, Dr. Foti has been instrumental to the success of the AACR, and in her leadership role she has strategically positioned the AACR to maximize its impact against cancer in the future.

Dr. Foti's dedication and passion for conquering cancer have already been recognized around the world as she has received many national and international awards for her contributions to cancer research, including: the Ville de Paris Award for her contributions to the field of oncology; the Cino del Duca Award for raising public awareness globally; the Community Caring Award from the William S. Graham Foundation for Melanoma Research; the American Society of Clinical Oncology Special Recognition Award for her work in advancing clinical cancer research; and most recently the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of American Cancer Institutes for her outstanding contributions to progress in cancer research. Dr. Foti has also been awarded Honorary Memberships in the Japanese Cancer Association and the European Association for Cancer Research, and an Honorary Doctorate in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Rome La Sapienza.

Among her many outside professional activities, Dr. Foti has served as a Board member, and later as President, of the National Coalition for Cancer Research; member of the Advisory Board of the Friends of Cancer Research; Board member of the Translational Genomics Institute (TGen); Medical Advisory Board Member of the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation; member of the Council of the European Association for Cancer Research; and Board member of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. She has also served as President of the Council of Science Editors and of the Society for Scholarly Publishing, and has served in various capacities for the International Federation of Science Editors, the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, the European Life Science Editors Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association, among others. She has also been a consultant to a number of nonprofit organizations and has lectured widely at academic institutions in the United States and abroad.

The Inaugural AACR Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research will be presented during the Opening Centennial Ceremony of the 2007 AACR Annual Meeting, Sunday, April 15, 2007 from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., in Hall A of the Los Angeles Convention Center.