Murray Korc, M.D., the Myles Brand Professor of Cancer Research at IU School of Medicine, will receive the Vay Liang and Frisca Go Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Pancreatic Association on Nov. 1 in Miami.
Recipients are chosen because of their leadership within the association and their service as role models and mentors for future generations of pancreatic researchers and physicians. Also, their accomplishments in the field must have inspired many and continue to stimulate the next generation to do their best work.
“We are thrilled to honor Dr. Korc for his lifetime of achievements,” Ashok K. Saluja, secretary-treasurer of the American Pancreatic Association, said. “He is unquestionably a leader in the field, and moreover, has provided exemplary service to the pancreas community.”
Dr. Korc, who arrived at Indiana University in October 2011 and also holds the titles of IU professor of medicine and of biochemistry and molecular biology, and his colleagues design strategies for early pancreatic cancer detection, improved prevention and treatment modalities, and meaningful prolongation of pain-free survival.
The Myles Brand Professorship was created to help physicians and scientists at the IU Simon Cancer Center to continue investigating devastating malignancies, such as pancreatic cancer, which claimed the life of Brand, the 16th president of Indiana University. The Brand Professorship funds and encourages research that may one day lead to a cure.
In 2012, an estimated 43,920 new cases of pancreatic cancer are expected in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. An estimated 37,390 deaths are expected from the disease in 2012.
Dr. Korc’s research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1981. His focus is on aberrant growth-factor signaling in pancreatic cancer and genetic mouse models of pancreatic cancer, with the goal of designing novel therapeutic strategies. He has published more than 270 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and he is internationally recognized for his seminal contributions to the understanding of the role of the EGF receptor and transforming growth factor-beta in pancreatic cancer, work recognized by an NIH MERIT award. The NIH presents the highly-selective MERIT Awards to researchers who demonstrate superior competence and outstanding productivity in research endeavors.
About the American Pancreatic Association
The American Pancreatic Association (APA), based in Minneapolis, was founded in 1969 through the efforts of Drs. Frank Brooks, Paul Webster and Vay Liang ‘‘Bill’’ Go. Its mission is to foster clinical and basic science research needed to cure diseases of the pancreas, and it strives to continue advancing the field of research while training the next generation of researchers devoted to finding a cure for these deadly diseases. The Vay Liang & Frisca Go Award is presented each year at the APA Scientific Conference.