The Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research is pleased to honor Margaret Foti, Ph.D., M.D. (h.c.) with the first annual AACR Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research.
Dr. Foti is Chief Executive Officer of the AACR; Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Executive Officer of the AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer; and Managing Editor of Cancer Research, the most highly cited cancer research journal in the world.
Recognized for her extraordinary leadership of the AACR and her sustained dedication to the conquest of cancer through research, scholarly publications, communication, science education and training, and public education, the Board of Directors chose to perpetuate her leadership qualities by establishing an award in Dr. Foti's honor. Subsequent awards in her name will honor exemplary leaders in the field of cancer research.
"Dr. Foti's dedication and incredible passion for conquering cancer are well known and held in high esteem in the Association as well as globally," said Peter A. Jones, Ph.D., D.Sc., AACR past president. "Although she does not seek the limelight, preferring to let others receive recognition, the Board of Directors of the AACR is pleased to honor Dr. Foti for her leadership and achievements in cancer research."
Dr. Foti joined the AACR in 1965 as Editorial Assistant for Cancer Research, under the editorship of her first mentor, Michael B. Shimkin, M.D. She was rapidly promoted to the position of Managing Editor of the journal in 1969, becoming the youngest Managing Editor of a major scientific journal in the country.
Progressing through several key management roles in scientific publishing, Dr. Foti became the first Executive Director of the AACR in 1982. Since then, she successfully launched the next four high-quality journals of the AACR: Clinical Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; and Molecular Cancer Research—all of which are prestigious publications in the cancer field, contributing over 26,000 pages to the scientific literature every year.
Seeking to bring increased innovation to the arena of scientific presentation and exchange, Dr. Foti created the AACR Special Conference series that has grown to feature more than ten special conferences a year in the U.S. and several more around the globe. She led the effort to develop the AACR Annual Meeting into the premier international cancer meeting in the world for the presentation of high-quality basic, translational, clinical and epidemiological cancer research. Under Dr. Foti's leadership, the AACR has grown to more than 25,000 members in more than 70 countries worldwide and serves tens of thousands more in the world cancer community. During her tenure, Dr. Foti has been instrumental to the success of the AACR, and in her leadership role she has strategically positioned the AACR to maximize its impact against cancer in the future.