Ari Melnick, MDof Weill Cornell Medicine discusses winning the American Society of Hematology Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize.
ASH will award the 2020 Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize to Ari Melnick, MD of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York and Courtney DiNardo, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for their valuable research contributions to the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia through an enhanced understanding of epigenetics.
Named for the late Ernest Beutler, MD, former president of ASH and physician-scientist for more than 50 years, the Ernest Beutler Lecture is a two-part lectureship that recognizes significant translational progress on a single topic. Two individuals are honored by the award: one recognized for allowing advancements in basic science and the other recognized for using clinical science or translational research to make progress in basic science through practical changes in patient care.
Drs. Drs. During the 62nd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, Melnick will present her lecture.
The award acknowledges Dr. Ari Melnick’s contributions to the field’s understanding of the “epigenetic environment” of hematologic malignancies.
The winner of the basic science award, Dr. Melnick, is a Gebroe Family Professor of Hematology / Oncology, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, and a member of Weill Cornell’s Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center. His studies have shown that epigenetic mutations can act as mechanisms that drive diseases, and that epigenetic heterogeneity and clonality can affect these diseases’ clinical outcome. Dr. Melnick focuses primarily on epigenetic pathways involved in hematologic malignancy pathogenesis and has published more than 270 papers on the subject. His key scientific contributions include the first rationally engineered cancer treatment transcription factor inhibitor and the idea that the epigenome could serve as a “blueprint” containing the instructions that give their specific phenotypes to tumors. In addition, he observed that somatic mutations of genes encoding the IDH1 and IDH2 enzymes in AML drive aberrant patterning of DNA methylation, and also discovered a new cancer paradigm whereby foundational mutations in diffuse large B-cell and follicular lymphomas cause aberrant persistence of cancer characteristics that normally occur in B-cell germinal centers.