BIDMC’s Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD, PhD, named AAAS 2017 fellow

BOSTON – Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD, PhD, Director of the Cancer Center and Cancer Research Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

Pandolfi was elected as an AAAS Fellow in the Section on Medical Science for his “seminal contributions to the elucidation of the molecular genetics and biology of human cancer, which also led to the cure of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL).” His work in APL entailed identifying the genetic mechanisms underlying the disease, validating these mechanisms in mouse models and developing novel treatment modalities. The co-clinical trial platform for parallel experimental drug testing in humans and in mouse models in the mouse-hospital, which Dr. Pandolfi pioneered, bridges the clinical and research fields to advance progress toward novel cures. As a result of his work, APL is now considered curable.

“It is a great honor to be recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science,” said Pandolfi, who is also the George C. Reisman Professor of Medicine and Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. “With stellar companion awardees hailing from across the universes of science, medicine and engineering, I’m humbled by the company I keep with this distinction.”

Pandolfi is one of 396 members awarded the honor of being named an AAAS Fellow this year on the basis of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Fellows are recognized at a special ceremony during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. This year’s AAAS Fellows will also be formally announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on Nov. 24, 2017.

“Under Dr. Pandolfi’s leadership, the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has become one of the nation’s premier cancer research centers and is increasingly recognized as a fertile ground for important basic and clinical research that has the potential to transform patient care,” said Kevin Tabb, MD, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Dr. Pandolfi’s discoveries in the field of cancer research have translated into lifesaving advances, and all of us at BIDMC are very proud that he is being recognized with this honor.”

For more information on the AAAS Fellows please visit www.aaas.org/elected-fellows.