The 2004 Jeffrey M. Trent Lecture in Cancer Research

The 2004 Jeffrey M. Trent Lecture in Cancer Research

Opportunities to Improve Cancer Outcomes

On Tuesday, November 30, 2004 at 11:00 a.m, the second annual Jeffrey M.Trent Lecture in Cancer Research was presented by Dr. Lee Hartwell, a 2001 Nobel Laureate and the President and Director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The lecture, entitled Opportunities to Improve Cancer Outcomes took place on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus at Lipsett Auditorium in Building 10.

About the Lecturer

Dr. Lee Hartwell has been studying the yeast cell for more than 35 years. Using the budding yeast that is essential for brewing beer and baking bread, Dr. Hartwell identified many genes that control cell division. Using yeast as a model organism presented many advantages for this work, including its rapid division time, its facile genetic system, and its budding shape. The genes that control cell division in yeast subsequently have been found also to control cell division in humans and often to be the site of alteration in cancer. In addition to displaying alterations in cell division, cancer cells, unlike normal cells, also are genetically unstable. Dr. Hartwell also turned to yeast to investigate the basis for accurate cellular reproduction and discovered what are now called "checkpoint" genes. These genes are involved in detecting mistakes have been made during cellular reproduction and can halt cell division so that repair can take place.

Dr. Hartwell was born on October 30, 1939, in Los Angeles. In 1961, he earned his B.S. at the California Institute of Technology and, in 1964, earned his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the mentorship of Dr. Boris Magasanik. He performed his postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in 1964-1965 with Dr. Renato Dulbecco. Dr. Hartwell was an assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine from 1965 to 1968. He joined the University of Washington faculty in 1968 and has been a Professor of Genome Sciences there since 1973. In 1996, he joined the faculty of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and, in 1997, became its President and Director.

Dr. Hartwell is the recipient of many national and international scientific awards, including the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Other honors bestowed upon Dr. Hartwell include the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the Gairdner Foundation International Award, and the Alfred P. Sloan Award in Cancer Research. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

• Learn more about Dr. Lee Hartwell [fhcrc.org]

The Jeffrey M. Trent Lectureship in Cancer Research

Dr. Trent was the National Human Genome Research Institute's (NHGRI) founding Scientific Director, serving in this role for more than nine years. His leadership and vision was instrumental in establishing NHGRI's Division of Intramural Research as one of the premier research programs in the world devoted to genetics and genomics. In recognition of his significant contributions to the research environment at NIH, NHGRI established the annual Jeffrey M. Trent Lecture in Cancer Research. This lecture is given by a prominent cancer researcher who brings the kind of energy, creativity and enthusiasm to cancer research that Dr. Trent has exemplified throughout his career.

Sign language interpreters will be provided. Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact Ms. Claire Kelso: claire@nhgri.nih.gov or (301) 435-5802).

For additional information regarding the lecture, please contact:

Ms. Claire Kelso
E-mail: claire@nhgri.nih.gov
Phone: (301) 435-5802