- MSK announced its receipt of a $100 million gift from Henry R. and Marie-Josée Kravis. The Kravises are giving similar donations to the foremost institutions in the country which carry on cancer treatment and research. The announcement coincided with the introduction of MSK’s new Center for Molecular Oncology. The Center will be named for the Kravises. The concentration of the Center will be to investigate the DNA of patients and their tumors with the goal of developing drugs which will be directed to genetic mutations at the root of their disease.
- MSK has joined together with Rockefeller University and the Weill Cornell Medical College to announce the inception of a yearly prize which will support future life scientists. To be called the Tri-Institutional Breakout Awards for Junior Investigators, up to six exceptional postdoctoral life science students will be awarded a $25,000 cash stipend each. Every year, one recipient will come from each of the founding institutions and the rest of the prizes will be awarded to the most outstanding students regardless of their affiliation.
- Dr. Kent A. Sepkowitz, Deputy Physician-in-Chief at MSK, has written an article about the value of systematic reviews to the medical world. Dr. Sepkowitz writes that “the systematic review provides a verdict on unsettled medical debates based on a painstaking reassessment of all the relevant research.” He speaks of the influence of systematic reviews on official guidelines and “best practices” and introduces the Cochrane Collaboration, the most prestigious group carrying out systematic reviews. His article, directed to the public, is engaging and informative.
- AV Therapeutics which develops cancer drugs and vaccines, has announced that MSK’s Dr. Howard Scher, Chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service, will head the company’s Phase I clinical trial for Capridine-beta, AV Therapeutics’ prostate cancer immunotherapy drug. Thirteen prestigious cancer centers — including Johns Hopkins, MD Anderson, Fred Hutchinson, Duke University and MSK — have joined together to form the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium and will take part in the trials.
- A new MSK study has shown that aromatherapy with heliotropin, which has a scent similar to vanilla, considerably lowered anxiety for patients during MRI exams. Aromatherapy has already been shown to stimulate relaxation and improve sleep. Research is going on all over the world on the benefits of aromatherapy to promote health and well being.