Dr. Susan B. Horowitz, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Receives $300,000 Grant from National Foundation for Cancer Research

National Foundation for Cancer Research
Saturday, 5 May 2001

Dr. Susan Band Horwitz, professor and co-chair of the Department of Molecular Pharmacology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, has received a $300,000 three-year grant from the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) to support her work developing new drugs that will be effective in Taxol-resistant human tumors. The NFCR also named Dr. Horwitz as a "new project director."

Taxol is one of the most effective cancer-fighting therapies developed in recent years. Nevertheless, the majority of human tumors treated with this drug eventually become resistant to it. The NFCR award will support basic research by Dr. Horwitz and her Einstein colleagues to solve this problem.

"We will be significantly aided in our efforts by the grant from the National Foundation for Cancer Research," Dr. Horwitz said. "This support is particularly meaningful because of the flexibility I will have in deciding how best to use these funds. The results of this research could really make a difference to cancer patients," she added.

An associate director of the Albert Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Horwitz is also the Rose C. Falkenstein Professor of Cancer Research at Einstein. She is widely recognized for her fundamental findings about mechanisms by which Taxol inhibits cell growth. Her research led to its development, and eventual approval, as a treatment for ovarian, breast and lung cancers. The characteristics of Taxol that have distinguished it from other cancer chemotherpeutic agents are its novel chemical structure, its unique mechanism of action in blocking cell division and its activity in solid tumors.

"We believe that breakthrough research into the development of Taxol derivatives that will work on Taxol-resistant human tumors could revolutionize the success of treatment for human malignancies," said Franklin Salisbury, Jr., president of the National Foundation for Cancer Research. "With NFCR's funding support, Dr. Horwitz will be able to do bold and blue-sky exploration."

The National Foundation for Cancer Research is a cancer-related charity fully dedicated to advancing basic science cancer research in the laboratory. Formed in 1973 to support research related to the prevention, treatment and cure of cancer, NFCR encourages and facilitates collaboration and the sharing of ideas and results among scientists so that advances in one field contribute to discoveries in others. The NFCR has provided more than $170 million to fund research that has played a key role in many current breakthroughs in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all types of cancer. For more information please visit the website at http://www.nfcr.org/.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's leading centers for biomedical research and education. Among its particular areas of research strength are cancer, heart disease, diabetes, liver diseases, immunology, neuroscience and molecular genetics. The Albert Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of the largest academic cancer centers on the East Coast. More than 100 medical scientists and physicians work collaboratively to discover and understand the causes of cancer, establish preventive interventions and identify effective therapies for malignant diseases. At the forefront of molecular based biomedical cancer research, the Comprehensive Cancer Center is also at the vanguard of efforts to translate the findings of the laboratory into clinical practice.

For more information, or to contact National Foundation for Cancer Research, see their website at: www.researchforacure.com