THE Rockefeller university NEWS FOR BENEFACTORS AND FRIENDS OF THE UNIVERSITY • FALL 2007 ANDERSON CENTER FOR CANCER RESEARCH ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF MRS. MARJORIE MATHESON hanks to an extraordinary leadership izing more fully on Rockefeller’s outstanding re- The center also sponsors Anderson Graduate gift from Mrs. Marjorie Anderson sources in cancer research. Now, through Mardi Fellowships and Anderson Postdoctoral Fellowships Matheson, The Rockefeller University Matheson’s magnanimous gift, we are extremely well that ensure support for outstanding scientists-in- has launched a major new interdisci- positioned to do so.” training. In addition, Dr. de Lange is overseeing the plinary science initiative, development of a seminar series, symposia, and re- Tthe Anderson Center for Cancer treats to bring Anderson Center researchers together. Research. Directed by Paul Nurse, These programs are designed to foster scientific inter- whose 2001 Nobel Prize recognized action and collaborations among cancer biologists. his scientific contributions to the “The dialogue between laboratories and across dis- understanding of cancer, the Ander- ciplinary boundaries,” says Dr. Nurse, “is vital to son Center is the largest of the Univer- advancing our knowledge of cancer or any of the sity’s interdisciplinary research other major diseases where critical problems remain centers. Dr. Nurse has appointed to be solved.” Dr. Titia de Lange as associate direc- The Anderson Center’s core investigators work in tor of the Anderson Center. (See story a wide range of basic and clinical fields, including on Dr. de Lange, page 4.) molecular and cell biology, immunology, genetics, Marjorie Matheson—known to developmental biology, stem cell biology, neuro- her friends as Mardi—was introduced oncology, biophysics, and investigative dermatology. to the University in 2005 and joined Several of the center’s clinical scientists are seeking to The Rockefeller University Council in David Rockefeller joined Marjorie Matheson, her daughter Holly Bard, and develop forms of immunotherapy known as cancer President Paul Nurse at a luncheon celebrating the creation of the new 2006. She comments, “Although I am vaccines, including Dr. Ralph Steinman, who was Anderson Center for Cancer Research. a relative newcomer to Rockefeller, recently awarded the prestigious Lasker Award for I sensed from my first visit the uniqueness of this Mrs. Matheson is contributing a generous perma- Basic Medical Research (see page 5). Another center institution and its potential to address the challenges nent endowment to support the Anderson Center’s member, Dr. James Krueger, directs the new Milstein posed by cancer. Nothing could please me more than activities in perpetuity, as to help Rockefeller’s superb cancer biologists, led by well as expendable funds to Paul Nurse, advance the understanding and treat- be directed to a variety of “Nothing could please me more than to help ment of cancer.” center initiatives. These ini- Rockefeller’s superb cancer biologists…advance the More than a third of the University’s laboratories tiatives include a seed fund conduct research related to cancer, including fifteen for innovative new cancer understanding and treatment of cancer.” of the twenty new laboratories headed by scientists research programs and recruited to the University since 2000. The creation start-up funding for the re- { } of the Anderson Center for Cancer Research fulfills cruitment of new cancer biologists, as well as support Medical Research Program (see page 2). Dr. Krueger, a key priority of the University’s Strategic Plan. for shared resources, especially new technologies and a physician-scientist and skin biologist, recently Dr. Nurse says, “After becoming Rockefeller’s presi- instrumentation essential to advancing the center’s launched a major study aimed at improved under- dent in 2003, I made a strong commitment to capital- research programs. standing and treatment of melanoma. WILSON, BLOOMBERG RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREES ROCKEFELLER RECOGNIZES NATURALIST AND NEW YORK MAYOR Harvard University professor Edward O. Wilson and levels of our culture. He spoke about New York City’s New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg received investment in improving science education in the pub- honorary doctor of science degrees at Rockefeller’s lic schools, as well as the enormous potential of the 2007 Convocation ceremony on June 21. A noted growing biosciences industry for the city’s economic author, Dr. Wilson is an evolutionary biologist widely future. Turning to U.S. national policy, he called for a regarded as one of the world’s most eminent natural- revision of immigration regulations that, he said, ists. He is perhaps best known for launching the field severely handicap international students studying at of sociobiology and promoting awareness of bio- Rockefeller and other universities. Certain restrictions, diversity, a term he created. As mayor of New York he explained, “needlessly hold back the advance of City, Mr. Bloomberg has demonstrated a commitment scientific knowledge” and “ultimately hamper our to improving public health and an advocacy of science nation’s ability to compete in a global economy.” that are unmatched in the history of the city. More broadly, Mr. Bloomberg argued that our duty In addressing the University’s twenty-eight Ph.D. to promote scientific excellence in the U.S. entails recipients and their guests, Mayor Bloomberg stressed working “for a political environment that truly respects the importance of nurturing scientific excellence at all science and scientists.” Noting America’s long tradi- tion “of actively nurturing free scientific investigations, Above left, honorary degree recipients Michael Bloomberg wherever they might lead,” he remarked that when and E. O. Wilson chat with Paul Nurse. Left, Mayor Bloom- berg addresses graduates and their guests at Convocation in basic research is thwarted or intellectual freedom is Caspary Auditorium. hindered, our entire society suffers. THE PAUL MILSTEIN FAMILY CREATES A NEW PROGRAM IN MELANOMA RESEARCH AT RU elanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, KRUEGER RESEARCH M has been on the rise worldwide for decades, but the biology of the COMBINES MOLECULAR disease remains poorly understood. Now, a $5.5 million gift from busi- AND CLINICAL SCIENCE ness leader and philanthropist Howard P. Milstein and the entire Paul Milstein family has created a major new melanoma research initiative at Rockefeller aimed at improving diagnosis and treatment of this disease. The Milstein Medical Research Program at The Rockefeller University is led by James G. Krueger, M.D., Ph.D., the University’s D. Martin Carter Professor and head of the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology. Melanoma, which accounts for three-quarters of Dr. Krueger serves as Medical Director of The all skin cancer deaths, occurs when pigment cells in Rockefeller University Hospital, where the new the skin, called melanocytes, become malignant. Cur- Milstein program will be based. “Melanoma is per- rent treatments for melanoma include surgery, che- haps the most important disease treated by derma- motherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy, or a tologists, especially because early recognition and combination of these treatments. Treatment success surgical excision may be curative,” says Dr. Krueger. depends on many factors, including the patient’s gen- “It is our intention to obtain a much deeper under- Dr. James Krueger (right), a physician-scientist eral health and whether the cancer has spread to the standing of disease pathogenesis, including disease at The Rockefeller University Hospital, directs the lymph nodes or other organs. genomics, and to use this information in the very new Milstein Medical Research Program focusing near future to begin to engineer new on melanoma. At a July 18 campus press confer- therapies for melanoma.” ence announcing the creation of the program, In expressing the University’s grat- Dr. Krueger commented, “We want to improve itude to the Paul Milstein family, the way in which melanoma is understood, start- President Paul Nurse remarked, “This ing at the skin surface but going much deeper to generous Milstein family gift will en- the underlying cell biology and genetics of the able Rockefeller University physician- scientists to better understand the disease, so we can try to put the whole puzzle basic biology of melanoma in people, together and come up with new therapeutics.” a crucial step in the fight against this The time is ripe for this kind of effort, he said, devastating disease.” because recent scientific and technological ad- Members of the Paul Milstein fam- vances have provided extraordinary new tools for ily have been leading supporters of the study of melanoma. medical research since the 1960s, In the first stage of investigation, Dr. Krueger when they provided initial funding and his colleagues will undertake laboratory re- for interferon studies. They have been search aimed at elucidating the basic biology of Howard Milstein, his wife, Abby, and his parents, Irma and Paul Milstein, melanoma. The information they gain about the pause in front of the University’s donor recognition wall. active with many major institutions, including New York-Presbyterian molecular pathology of the disease will help them Speaking on behalf of the family of Paul Milstein, Medical Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, and select appropriate cellular and molecular targets Howard Milstein, who is Chairman of