Bert Vogelstein, M.D., Wins 2015 Dr. Paul Janssen Award

17 June, 2015 – Dr. Bert Vogelstein of Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is the winner of the 2015 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research for his breakthroughs in oncology research, which have spanned more than two decades and have formed the basis of modern cancer research. Dr. Vogelstein was honored during a reception at the 2015 BIO International in Philadelphia Convention on 17 june 2015. A video of his acceptance comments can be viewed here.

Learn more about the 2015 Dr. Paul Janssen Award here.

“Dr. Vogelstein’s work forms the paradigm for understanding how nearly all forms of human tumors arise and progress,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer and Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson. “His discoveries triggered a new wave of innovation in the field, resulting in transformational solutions for patients. It is a great honor to recognise the work of researchers like Dr. Vogelstein, who embody the same tenacity and commitment to improving human health as Dr. Paul.”

Beginning in the 1980's, Vogelstein and his colleagues designed novel approaches to study the molecular basis of colorectal tumors and found that they result from the sequential accumulation of alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. His group went on to discover many of the most important of these genes. For example, they identified TP53, the gene encoding thep53 protein, as a tumor suppressor gene that functioned as common denominator of cancer, altered more often than any other gene across tumor types. Dr. Vogelstein’s work throughout the past two decades has continued to illuminate cancer genes and the pathways they control, guiding the current scientific revolution in genome-wide studies of tumors.