2011 Breakthrough Roundtable Meeting – November 14, 2011
On November 14, 2011, the Annual Breakthrough Roundtable Meeting took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. Each year, this meeting provides a platform for high-level discussion among thought-leaders in the industry about important issues in the field and how CPRIT can play a role.
With 15 stellar panelists and CPRIT leadership, the discussion focused on molecular diagnostics and personalized medicine, a rapidly growing area of cancer treatment and prevention. A summary of the discussion will be available in CPRIT’s annual report.
Thank you to our remarkable panel for sharing their passion and time during this ground-breaking meeting.
2011 Roundtable Panelists:
- Joseph Bailes, M.D., CPRIT Oversight Committee Vice Chairman
- Al Gilman, M.D., Ph.D., CPRIT Chief Scientific Officer
- James Mansour, CPRIT Oversight Committee Chairman
- Roy Baynes, M.D., Ph.D., Amgen
- Art Beaudet, M.D., Baylor College of Medicine
- David Carlson, Ph.D., Texas A&M HSC
- Ron DePinho, M.D., MD Anderson
- Charles Geyer, Jr., M.D., FACP, CTNeT
- Richard Gibbs, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
- Beth Hellerstedt, M.D., Texas Oncology
- John McDevitt, Ph.D., Rice University
- Gordon Mills, M.D., Ph.D., MD Anderson
- Sean Morrison, Ph.D., UT Southwestern
- Pat Reynolds, M.D., Ph.D., Texas Tech HSC
- Dean Sherry, Ph.D., UT Southwestern
- Jamey Skillings, M.D., Pfizer
- Steven Stein, M.D., Novartis Pharmaceuticals
- Tachi Yamada, M.D., Takeda Pharmaceuticals
2011 CPRIT Foundation Annual Dinner - November 14, 2011
Following the Roundtable Meeting, panelists were invited to join more than 280 guests at the CPRIT Foundation’s Annual Dinner also held at the Four Seasons Hotel. This event provides the opportunity for the CPRIT Foundation to showcase the year’s accomplishments and offer appreciation to vital supporters.
The 2011 dinner highlighted some of CPRIT’s most impressive statistics since its inception. Some of these numbers included: 350 grants awarded to date, $570,742,005 in CPRIT grants awarded to date, CPRIT prevention programs in 92% of Texas counties, and 34 CPRIT scholars recruited to Texas.
Following remarks by Jennifer Stevens, CPRIT Foundation Executive Director and emcee for the evening, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst was presented with the 2011 Champion Award for his extraordinary measures in supporting and enhancing the efforts of CPRIT. Lt. Governor Dewhurst announced his support of CPRIT early in the legislative session and remained steadfast to ensure CPRIT’s full funding was renewed. He is, no doubt, a CPRIT Champion.
Tachi Yamada, M.D., Chief Medical and Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President and Board Member of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, gave keynote remarks. A special thanks to Charles Tate, a member of the CPRIT Oversight Committee, for his help in recruiting Dr. Yamada to charm the crowd. Dr. Yamada spoke heavily on his past experience at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where he served as President of the Global Health Program. He provided interesting perspectives regarding the critical impact CPRIT can have on prevention as well as drug development, all while keeping the crowd entertained with his humor. Dr. Yamada closed his remarks by congratulating the Institute on its amazing accomplishments in its first two years.
2011 Innovations in Cancer Prevention and Research Conference – November 15-17, 2011
The CPRIT Foundation Breakthrough Roundtable Meeting and Dinner have become the kick-off events for CPRIT’s conference week. The two-and-a-half day scientific conference was held at the Austin Convention Center on November 15-17, 2011.
The conference provides a unique platform for attendees to share and inspire innovative ideas in the fight against cancer. During the conference, 37 speakers gave presentations, lectures, and panel discussions in front of an audience of 820 attendees, and 350 abstract posters were displayed and presented throughout the week. The program this year was divided into three tracks for Research, Prevention, and Commercialization, to tailor to the diverse interests of attendees. Topics ranged from Dr. Ron DePinho’s vision for The University of MD Anderson as its new president, to a panel discussion on drug development from a pharmaceutical perspective, to prevention and survivorship with a real time look at a clinic doing cancer screenings in Fort Worth, Texas. Found in the audiences of these sessions were cancer specialists and researchers, community health experts, advocates, survivors and students.
In an effort to pay special tribute to CPRIT’s grant recipients from the 2011 fiscal year, program directors and primary investigators were invited to the Annual Grant Recipient Honors Dinner for a celebration. The dinner was graciously hosted by UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa at his home for the second year in a row.
2010 Breakthrough Roundtable Meeting – November 16, 2010
Clinical trials were the focus of the second annual Breakthrough Roundtable Meeting
CPRIT Leadership participated in the discussion. (Top-bottom, l-r) Heidi McConnell, Bill Gimson, Kristen Doyle, Dr. Joseph Bailes, Dr. Al Gilman, James Mansour
In follow up to one of the suggestions made at the 2009 roundtable meeting, CPRIT has made a clinical trials network a top priority for the institute to fulfill its mandate for encouraging statewide collaboration. The recently established Statewide Clinical Trials Network of Texas (CTNeT) will enable Texas academic institutions and community-based clinical practices to work together to develop and conduct new therapeutic studies, focused on broader and more representative accrual of patients.
This CPRIT-awarded grant was the main topic of the 2010 roundtable meeting, which drew national attention for its interesting topic and distinguished panel members (which included three Nobel Laureates). In addition to CPRIT leadership, the group was comprised of 16 seasoned researchers, university and hospital executives, government leaders, and pharmaceutical representatives, who all shared their various perspectives on how Texas should learn from the short-comings of the current system and establish an efficient and effective system right from the start.
In a press briefing prior to the meeting, Dr. Harold Varmus, newly-appointed Director of the National Cancer Institute, admitted to being envious and inspired by CPRIT. “As somebody sitting on a substantial budget that is shrinking as we watch, it is envy-making to see people making investments in new opportunities.”
Texas has an exciting opportunity with CTNeT and the recommendations made at the 2010 CPRIT Foundation Breakthrough Roundtable Meeting will prove to be fundamental in its success.
A formal recap of the meeting discussion will be available soon. Panelists are listed below.
Dr. Phil Sharp captivates the group including (front l-r) Clara Bloomfield, Julie Gerberding, Larry Norton and (back left) Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
2010 Roundtable Participants:
2010 Innovations in Cancer Prevention and Research Conference -
November 17-19, 2010
Innovation. Defined as the application of information, imagination, and initiative in deriving greater or different value from resources to be converted into useful products.
Researchers, community health experts, advocates, survivors, students and friends joined us in November 2010 as CPRIT shared a new perspective on how to make a difference in the fight against cancer. The thought-provoking program included:
2010 Conference Speakers:
2009 Breakthrough Roundtable Meeting – October 21, 2009
Experts from across the country met to discuss CPRIT’s unique objectives and opportunities
Robert Young, M.D., Joseph Bailes, M.D., Anna Barker, Ph.D, C. Thomas Caskey, M.D., and others participated in the panel discussion led by CPRIT Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Al Gilman.
After just three months of operations, the CPRIT Foundation hosted its first collaborative roundtable meeting. The event brought together scientists from Texas and across the nation prominent in the field of cancer research, treatment, and prevention. Some of the 17 panelists included Anna Barker, NCI Deputy Director; Robert Young, M.D., President of RCY Medicine; John Mendelsohn, M.D., President of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Mark Clanton, M.D. MPH, of the American Cancer Society. These experts discussed goals and objectives for the groundbreaking mission undertaken by CPRIT and provided unique insights to help build CPRIT’s future roadmap.
State leadership including Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, Representative Jim Keffer and Representative Patrick Rose were also on hand to share their perspectives from the capitol. Their insights will prove helpful in upcoming legislative sessions when CPRIT’s effectiveness will be reviewed and funding will be renewed.
A summary of the meeting can be found here.
2009 CPRIT Foundation Annual Dinner – October 21, 2009
Business, community and opinion leaders learned more about CPRIT and helped the Foundation raise $370,000
Dr. Robert Young, former Chancellor of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, gave a stimulating keynote address to over 250 attendees.
The inaugural dinner, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas, was attended by over 250 people including legislators, business and community leaders, and representatives from university systems and foundations, biotech companies, law firms, cancer advocacy organizations and major hospitals. The event raised $370,000 for the CPRIT Foundation.
During the dinner, CPRIT presented its Champion Award for exceptional leadership in the fight against cancer to Senator Jane Nelson, (who is referred to as the Mother of CPRIT), Representative Jim Keffer and Representative Patrick Rose. All three state legislators played critical roles in passing the legislation that established the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
Robert Young, M.D., former Chancellor of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and President of RCY Medicine in Philadelphia, delivered an insightful and stimulating keynote address.
