Two MD Anderson faculty named to Institute of Medicine

"Two leaders at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies in recognition of their contributions to medical science and health care.

Election of Guillermina Lozano, Ph.D., chair of the department of genetics, and David Piwnica-Worms, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the department of cancer systems imaging by members of the elite institution was announced today by the IOM.

"Membership in the Institute of Medicine is powerful recognition by outstanding peers of the impact Dr. Lozano and Dr. Piwnica-Worms have had as researchers and leaders in advancing our understanding and treatment of cancer," said Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D., provost and executive vice president at MD Anderson.

"Their election demonstrates the remarkable achievements of Guillermina Lozano, a recognized leader in the field of cancer genetics and David Piwnica-Worms, an exceptional scientist who excels at translating molecular research to the clinic where it directly helps our patients," Dmitrovsky said.

Membership in the IOM recognizes people who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

Lozano, a leader in deciphering the physiological relevance of the p53 tumor suppressor pathway, discovered the importance of p53 inhibitors, Mdm2 and Mdm4, in development and tumorigenesis. She illuminated cell cycle arrest and senescence as wild-type p53 tumor suppressive mechanisms, and defined mutant forms of p53 activities in tumorigenesis.

Piwnica-Worms was a founder of the field of molecular imaging. He pioneered strategies with genetically encoded luminescent reporters, PET reporters, and activatable peptides to enable visualization of cell biology, signaling pathways, protein processing and drug action within cells and living animals in vivo, as well as translating these into the clinic.

With the addition of Lozano and Piwnica-Worms MD Anderson has nine IOM members: Waun Ki Hong, M.D., professor of thoracic head and neck medical oncology; Helen Piwnica-Worms, Ph.D., vice provost for science; President Ronald DePinho, M.D.; John Mendelsohn, M.D., former president and director of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy; Ellen Gritz, Ph.D., chair of behavioral science; James Allison, Ph.D., chair of immunology; and Lynda Chin, M.D., chair of genomic medicine and scientific director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science.

Provided by University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center