The Dan David Foundation, based at Tel Aviv University, annually awards three prizes of $1 million each to laureates selected in fields chosen within the three time dimensions of Past, Present, and Future.

Mendelsohn joins Joseph Schlessinger, Ph.D., chairman of pharmacology at Yale University School of Medicine, as co-winner in the "Future Time Dimension" category, designed this year to recognize innovation in cancer research that will impact future treatment of the disease. The two researchers will share a $1 million prize, which will be awarded at a ceremony at Tel Aviv University on May 21.

"It is a tremendous honor to be awarded the Dan David Prize," Mendelsohn says. "It's especially gratifying to be honored for research that has played a role in the future care of patients with cancer. I am pleased to share this award with Dr. Schlessinger whom I have known for many years as a pioneer in the field of growth factor signaling. We have published one research article together."

This year, cellist Yo-Yo Ma received the $1 million "Past Time Dimension" award for "preserving cultural heritage," and four print journalists from Italy, Chile, Poland and Indonesia, cited for their pursuit of democracy and human rights, will share the $1 million "Present Time Dimension" award.

The 2006 "Future Time Dimension" award is focused on the field of cancer therapy, and Mendelsohn was awarded the prize for "pioneering the rapidly developing field of antibody-mediated cancer therapy in general and that of antibodies to growth factors in particular," according to the Foundation. For more than two decades, Mendelsohn has carried out research on how growth factors regulate the proliferation of cancer cells. Working
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Contact: Nancy Jensen
nwjensen@mdanderson.org
713-794-1584
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
27-Feb-2006