At Annual Meeting AAISCR Honors Leading Figures In Cancer Research
India-West Staff Reporter
SAN DIEGO, CA – The American Association of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research (AAISCR) held its 31st Annual Meeting on April 8th at the Marriott Marquis here, in conjunction with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. The mission of AAISCR is to cultivate a community of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research. The annual meeting received partial sponsorship from industrial partners and the Indian American Scientists in Cancer Research community.
During the event, a total of eight awards were presented. Notably, AAISCR honored Dr. Anil K Rustgi, MD, a distinguished Gastrointestinal Physician Scientist and Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, with the Life-Time Achievement Award for his significant contributions to understanding Gastrointestinal cancer biology and translating discoveries into clinical trials. Dr. Rustgi also delivered the keynote address. Additionally, Dr. Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD, Associate Vice President of Immunobiology and Professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, received the Outstanding Scientist Award for her groundbreaking work on immune mechanisms involved in tumor rejection or resistance to immune checkpoint therapy. Both Drs. Rustgi and Sharma were inducted as AACR Fellows this year, highlighting AAISCR’s rigorous selection process for cancer researchers.
The AAISCR-PR Vijaylaxmi Award for Innovation in Cancer Research was presented to Dr. Amit Tripathi, PhD, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, while the AAISCR-Dr. Raju Kucherlapati Family Fund travel scholarship was awarded to Dr. Anupa Geethadevi, Ph.D, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Furthermore, AAISCR continued its tradition of recognizing young cancer investigators with four awards this year. Aakash Nathani, MS, a graduate student from the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Florida A&M University, FL, and Manendra Lankadasari, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY, were among the recipients. Additionally, Saurabh Agarwal, PhD, Assistant Professor at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John’s University, NY, and Mary Priyanka Udumula, PhD, Research Scientist at Henry Ford Hospital and Henry Ford Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI, were recognized as junior faculty members for their contributions to cancer research.
The meeting concluded with a dinner accompanied by live music from Raja Govindarajan, a local San Diego musician, marking 31 years of AAISCR’s contributions to cancer research.
