Alan Rabson Receives AACI Special Recognition Award

The Association of American Cancer Institutes recently honored Alan S. Rabson, M.D., with a Special Recognition Award that recognized his achievements over five decades at the National Cancer Institute, as a deputy director, pathologist, cancer researcher, administrator, and clinical advisor.  The award also celebrates his numerous discoveries in virology and authorship of more than 100 scientific journal articles.

Arnold Rabson, M.D., left, accepts the Special Recognition Award from AACI, on behalf of his father, Alan S. Rabson, M.D.

Arnold Rabson, M.D., left, accepts the Special Recognition Award from AACI, on behalf of his father. Presenting the award at the Oct. 15 ceremony is AACI President William S. Dalton, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer and director of the Moffitt Cancer Center. Photo by Mike Gatty.

His son, Arnold Rabson, M.D., accepted the award on his behalf.

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The beneficial role of bacteria that live in the skin

A research team at NIH, including Heidi Kong, M.D., at NCI, has found that bacteria that normally live in the skin may help protect the body from infection. As the largest organ of the body, the skin represents a major site of interaction with microbes in the environment. Although immune cells in the skin protect against harmful organisms, until now, it has not been known if the millions of naturally occurring—and normally harmless—commensal bacteria in the skin, collectively known as the skin microbiota, also have a beneficial role. Using mouse models, the NIH team observed that commensals contribute to protective immunity by interacting with the immune cells in the skin. Their findings appeared online July 26, 2012, in Science and have significance for cancer patients whose immunity may be compromised. Read more…

Harold Varmus Speaks at National Press Club

National Cancer Institute Director Harold Varmus, M.D., was a guest of the Morning Newsmaker Program of the National Press Club on Sept. 25, 2012. His presentation was titled “What Impedes Cancer Research?”

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