Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research recognizes Mina ...( PHILADELPHIA -- Mina J. Bissell Ph.D....)

PHILADELPHIA -- Mina J. Bissell, Ph.D., is the recipient of the 2007 Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Cancer Research for her pioneering work on the relationship between cancer genetics and the three-dimensional structure of cells and tissues. Bissell is Distinguished Scientist in the Life Sciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a recognized leader in the study of the extracellular matrix (ECM) the complex physical and biochemical environment that surrounds living tissues and how it regulates genes in both normal organs and malignant tumors.

"Dr. Bissell is an extraordinarily accomplished cell biologist whose discoveries have had an enormous impact on our understanding of the mechanisms by which living cells proliferate, differentiate, become cancerous, or, ultimately, die," said AACR Chief Executive Officer Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.). "Her insights into the role of the extracellular matrix in gene expression have revolutionized our fundamental understanding of cancer biology."

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the award, which recognizes an individual who has made a major scientific discovery in basic or translational cancer research. Bissell will give an award lecture at the AACR Annual Meeting 2007 in Los Angeles, Calif., April 14-18. Her talk, entitled "Phenotype Overrides Genotype in Normal Mammary Gland and Breast Cancer," will be given at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, April 15, in Hall A of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

In Bissells honor, the Pezcoller Foundation will hold an award ceremony in early May in Trento, Italy, where she will receive a cash award of 75,000 and a medallion.

"I am honored to be the recipient of this prestigious award, and I thank the selection committee as well as the past and present members of my group for their hard work and vision" said Bissell.

Bissells work in the last two decades has brought the research community to a clo
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Contact: Greg Lester
lester@aacr.org
267-646-0554
American Association for Cancer Research
27-Mar-2007