Charles L. Sawyers (born 1959) is a
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, fil ...
(HHMI) investigator who holds the
Marie-Josée and
Henry R. Kravis
Henry R. Kravis (born January 6, 1944) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist.[Chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...]
of the Human
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...
and
Pathogenesis
Pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes from Greek πάθος ''pat ...
Program (HOPP) at
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...
(MSK). HOPP is a program created in 2006 that comprises researchers from many disciplines to bridge clinical and laboratory discoveries.
Career
Sawyers received a BA from
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 1981 and an MD from
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...
in 1985, followed by an internal medicine residency at the
University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It cond ...
.
He became a HHMI investigator in 2002 while working at UCLA's
Jonsson Cancer Center.
Sawyers works on molecularly targeted cancer drugs, with a focus on developing a new generation of treatment options for patients. He shared the 2009
Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award is one of four annual awards presented by the Lasker Foundation. The Lasker-DeBakey award is given to honor outstanding work for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of diseas ...
with
Brian J. Druker and
Nicholas Lydon
Nicholas B. Lydon FRS (born 27 February 1957) is a British scientist and entrepreneur. In 2009, he was awarded the Lasker Clinical Award and in 2012 the Japan Prize for the development of Gleevec, also known as Imatinib, a selective BCR-ABL i ...
,
for the development of the ABL kinase inhibitor
imatinib
Imatinib, sold under the brand names Gleevec and Glivec (both marketed worldwide by Novartis) among others, is an oral chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. Imatinib is a small molecule inhibitor targeting multiple receptor tyrosine kin ...
for patients with
chronic myeloid leukemia
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulat ...
and the second-generation ABL inhibitor
dasatinib
Dasatinib, sold under the brand name Sprycel among others, is a targeted therapy medication used to treat certain cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Specifically it is used to treat cases that ar ...
to overcome imatinib resistance. He also co-discovered the antiandrogen drugs
enzalutamide
Enzalutamide, sold under the brand name Xtandi, is a nonsteroidal antiandrogen (NSAA) medication which is used in the treatment of prostate cancer. It is indicated for use in conjunction with castration in the treatment of metastatic castrat ...
, approved by the
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...
in 2012, and
apalutamide
Apalutamide, sold under the brand name Erleada among others, is a nonsteroidal antiandrogen (NSAA) medication which is used in the treatment of prostate cancer. It is specifically indicated for use in conjunction with castration in the treatme ...
approved in 2019, both for treatment of advanced
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
.
Sawyers' cancer research is discussed in the second episode of ''
Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies''.
Significant positions
Sawyers served as President of the
American Society for Clinical Investigation
The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), established in 1908, is one of the oldest and most respected medical honor societies in the United States.
Organization and purpose
The ASCI is an honorary society to which more than 2,800 ph ...
(ASCI) in 2007 and of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in 2012. He was also appointed to the National Cancer Advisory Board by President Obama in 2012, and has served on the Board of Directors of
Novartis
Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loc ...
since 2013.
He was a founding co-
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
of the ''
Annual Review of Cancer Biology'' in 2017, serving until 2021.
Memberships
*
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
*
National Academy of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...
*
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
Awards
*Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award (2001)
*David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award,
American Society of Clinical Oncology
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a professional organization representing physicians of all oncology sub-specialties who care for people with cancer. Founded in 1964 by Fred Ansfield, Harry Bisel, Herman Freckman, Arnoldus G ...
(2005)
*Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award,
American Association for Cancer Research
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and t ...
(2005)
*
Dorothy P. Landon–AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research (2009)
*
Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award is one of four annual awards presented by the Lasker Foundation. The Lasker-DeBakey award is given to honor outstanding work for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of diseas ...
(2009)
*
Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences is a scientific award, funded by internet entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan of Facebook; Sergey Brin of Google; entrepreneur and venture capitalist Yuri Milner; and Anne Wojcicki, one of the ...
(2013)
*Taubman Prize for Excellent in Translational Medical Science (2013)
*Hope Funds for Cancer Research Award of Excellence for Clinical Development (2014)
*
BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards () are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The categories that make up the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ...
in Biomedicine along with
Tony Hunter and
Joseph Schlessinger
Joseph Schlessinger (born Josip Schlessinger; 26 March 1945) is a Yugoslav-born Israeli- American biochemist and biophysician. He is chair of the Pharmacology Department at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, as wel ...
(2014)
*The
Scheele Award
The Scheele Award () is a scientific award given by the Swedish , an organisation mainly consisting of pharmacists. The award is given to commemorate the pharmacist and chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742–1786) and has been appointed since 1961, i ...
(2017), The Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Science.
References
External links
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - Biography, Lab DescriptionHuman Oncology and Pathogenesis Program* Vide
Talk by Sawyers at the NIH-Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Symposium, March 31, 2011.* Vide
** Video:
ttp://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6846788n&tag=contentMain;contentBody On outsmarting cancer - @KatieCouric, CBS news, September 8, 2010* Quoted
New Drugs Stir Debate on Rules of Clinical Trials, New York Times, September 19, 2010* Quoted
* Video
Speaking with Charlie Rose: A discussion about Cancer Treatments, October 1, 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyers, Charles
American oncologists
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Princeton University alumni
1959 births
Living people
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Members of the National Academy of Medicine
Howard Hughes Medical Investigators
Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Fellows of the AACR Academy
University of California, San Francisco alumni
Annual Reviews (publisher) editors