Spain awards prize to five of the world's leading cancer scientists
Spain has awarded its Prince of Asturias annual award for scientific and technical research to an international team of cancer experts. The five leading cancer scientists - three Americans, a Briton and a Spaniard - won 50,000 euro between them and a sculpture by Spanish artist Joan Miro. 'From their different lines of investigation these scientists are at the vanguard of the fight against the set of diseases known as cancer, one of the greatest scientific challenges that humanity faces,' said jury president, biologist Julio Rodriguez Villanueva. Among the winners was British researcher Tony Hunter, who studied how mutations in genes that regulate growth lead to cancer. He was praised for 'a fundamental discovery in the development of new pharmaceuticals of notable efficiency'. The Barcelona-born Joan Massague, chairman of the Cancer Biology and Genetics programme at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, was honoured for his internationally recognised work on cell proliferation. Harvard University's Judah Folkman, a pioneer in the field of angiogenesis, which is used to treat cancer by depriving malignant cells of a blood supply. Dr Folkman made front page news in 1998 with reports that his drugs had cured mice of cancer. Winner Bert Vogelstein, a professor at John Hopkins University in the US, specialises in identifying and characterising the genes that cause colon cancer. The third American, Robert Weinberg, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, discovered the oncogene and the tumour suppressor gene, and specialises in breast cancer research. In a communiqué, the jury described him as 'one of the pioneers of cancer's genetic make-up'. In a message to the foundation, Weinberg said he was 'flattered beyond words' by the award. 'People like myself work in the research laboratory because it is fascinating and may one day help human suffering,' he said. 'Recognition like this is unexpected and persuades one that the fruits of one's labour are recognised beyond the narrow confines of research laboratories.' Established in 1981, the aim of the award is to acknowledge and promote scientific, cultural, social and humanistic achievements throughout the world.
Countries
Spain