The Clinical Research Forum awarded its top honor Thursday to Yale Cancer Center’s Dr. Roy Herbst for a paper he co-authored on immune therapy for multiple types of cancer.
The top prize, The Herbert Pardes Clinical Research Achievement Award, was awarded for a team-written paper published last November in the journal Nature. Herbst was first author of the paper that reported how the presence of PD-L1, an immune-suppressing protein in non-cancerous immune cells, may predict how patients will respond to treatment. The Phase I study included patients with melanoma or cancers of the lung, kidney, colon, GI tract, and head and neck. A new test developed by the team was used to evaluate the tumors.
“It was a true honor for our team to receive this recognition. The fact that we were able to translate new science from the lab to the clinic and back again proves the power of translational research, said Dr. Herbst, Ensign Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology; and Associate Director for translational research at Yale Cancer Center. “The ability to participate in research that helps as many patients as possible has always been my life-long goal.”
The paper was chosen from 50 projects submitted by 30 cancer research institutions. The award ceremony capped a national gathering in Washington, DC, of members of the Association for Clinical and Translational Science during which Herbst delivered a talk about personalized immune therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
“I applaud the researchers recognized for their groundbreaking clinical research that will advance new treatments to reduce suffering and bring hope to millions of people,” said NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins. “And I’m especially proud that NIH funding makes these advances possible.”
The mission of The Clinical Research Forum is to provide leadership to national clinical and translational research efforts and to promote understanding and support for clinical research and its impact on healthcare.