Come enjoy an afternoon with other Mawrters and hear one of Bryn Mawr’s most distinguished and globally honored alumnae talk about a life in science. An engaging speaker, Susan Band Horwitz Ph.D. will discuss her career and her research, including her contributions to the development of Taxol, that directly affect millions of women and cancer patients throughout the world. Dr. Horwitz is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Associate Director of the Albert Einstein Cancer Center. This event is hosted by Joan Kaye ’74 in her beautiful apartment.
Dr. Horwitz began investigating Taxol in 1977, after its isolation from the bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia. Her pioneering studies led to clinical trials of the drug in the mid-1980s. Taxol is now involved in first line treatment of a number of cancers. Maintaining a continuing interest in natural products as a source of new drugs for the treatment of cancer, Dr. Horwitz has launched countless careers from her own laboratory and inspired innumerable others to embrace questions that change the way scientists think about fundamental aspects of cell biology.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s largest organization dedicated to cancer research, awarded Dr. Horwitz its Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research in 2011. “Dr. Horwitz has had a direct impact on millions of cancer patients around the world through her work in understanding the mechanisms of action of paclitaxel (Taxol) and other cytotoxic drugs,” said Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.), chief executive officer of the AACR. “Her remarkable career and pivotal scientific contributions have influenced our understanding of how cancer drugs work and how to translate that knowledge into improved strategic treatments.”
Dr. Horwitz holds the Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research and has authored more than 300 publications, advancing knowledge of antitumor drugs and mechanisms of drug resistance. She has received numerous awards including the American Cancer Society’s Medal of Honor; the C. Chester Stock Award from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; the Bristol-Myers Squibb Cancer Distinguished Achievement Award; The Barnard Medal of Distinction; and the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize from Harvard Medical School. She received a Doctor Honoris Causa from Université de la Méditerranée in Marseilles, France.
Dr. Horwitz is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine and American Philosophical Society. She served as president of the AACR from 2002-2003.
WHEN: Saturday, November 4, 2017 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: 515 E 89th Street. Apt. 6A (between York & East End Avenues)
COST: $20 per person
RSVP via Eventbrite. (Space is limited and reservations will be on a first come first served basis.)
For questions, contact: Helen Thurston ’74 at jclosk@earthlink.net
Guests are welcome; however, no children under 14 can be accommodated.