Anne Cress, George Wondrak Receive Sixth Annual Salmon Awards
Anne Cress
George Wondrak
The Arizona Cancer Center researchers were recognized May 8 for their leadership in cancer research, grant support, publications, community service and clinical responsibilities.
Arizona Cancer Center researchers Anne Cress and George Wondrak have been selected as the 2008 recipients of the Sydney E. Salmon, MD, Distinguished Senior Investigator Award and Distinguished Junior Investigator Award, respectively.
The Salmon Awards, which are presented in memory of the Arizona Cancer Center’s founding director Dr. Sydney E. Salmon, were presented on May 8 – Salmon's birthday. The awards recognize Arizona Cancer Center faculty members for their leadership in cancer research, grant support, publications, community service and clinical responsibilities.
Cress is a professor of cell biology and anatomy and associate dean for research at The University of Arizona College of Medicine. She is investigating strategies to stop tumor cells “in their tracks” and prevent tumor metastasis, a catastrophic event for decreased patient prognosis and quality of life. Her current focus is on how cell surface molecules, called integrins, behave abnormally in tumor cells, enabling their transit along nerves to their final destination in the bone.
Through her collaborative research, Cress is helping to design strategies that will prevent these harmful and painful processes from occurring and at the same time provide new ways for physicians to determine if a patient’s cancer is likely to spread. She has a 25-year history of contributions to interdisciplinary science through more than 100 publications, several grant awards, and permanent national study section service membership.
Wondrak, assistant professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the UA College of Pharmacy, is working on developing a Trojan Horse to kill cancer by finding compounds that cancer cells will take up and use for chemical reactions, inevitably leading to their own death. Wondrak’s research is unique because the compounds he designs chemically react with cancer cell proteins, rather than simply binding to them. This reactivity-based drug discovery goes straight for the Achilles’ heel of redox and metabolic pathways, turning chemical reagents into potent therapeutics.
Recently, Wondrak’s collaborative research has identified Michael acceptors derived from cinnamon as promising chemopreventive factors. He has been a researcher at the College of Pharmacy since 2001.
The Arizona Cancer Center is the state’s premier National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. With research sites in Tucson, Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Sun City, the center has 300 world-class physician and scientist members working to prevent and cure cancer. For more information, go to http://www.arizonacancercenter.org.
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- Contact Info
Donna Breckenridge
520-626-2277