Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi, chairman of the Department of Surgery, the Lewis Atterbury Stimson Professor of Surgery and a professor of surgery, received the 2016 Association of Women Surgeons Past Presidents' Honorary Member Award for his outstanding contributions to women in surgery. The award is given to individuals who are supportive of the goals and mission of the Association of Women Surgeons, which is dedicated to enhancing the interaction and exchange of information between women surgeons. Dr. Michelassi was presented with the award at the Association of Women Surgeons awards dinner Oct. 17 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Wen Shen, an assistant professor of cell biology in radiation oncology, won the Irma T. Hirschl/Monique Weill-Caulier Trust Career Scientist Award. The trust award supports talented biomedical scientists who are committed to careers in academic research; exhibit an exceptional potential for high-quality, productive research; and work at one of six academic medical centers in New York. Dr. Shen was awarded $35,000 per year over the next five years to study the nuclear function of the tumor suppressor PTEN in controlling genomic stability. By dissecting PTEN's function using multiple tumor models, the study is aimed at identifying synthetic lethal pathways of PTEN for the development of tailored therapeutic approaches to eliminate PTEN-deficient tumors.