Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, Executive Vice President for Research, and chief scientific and strategy officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will be recognized at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) with one of its highest honors.
Pietenpol is the 2024 recipient of the Science of Oncology Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to basic or translational research in cancer. She is among a select group of researchers, patient advocates, philanthropists, teachers and global oncology leaders being recognized with special awards by ASCO and Conquer Cancer, the organization’s foundation.
Pietenpol, Ingram Professor of Cancer Research and holder of the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development, is scheduled to deliver a 30-minute lecture when she receives the award during the ASCO Annual Meeting, May 31-June 4 in Chicago.
A professor of biochemistry, Pietenpol is known for many contributions to the cancer field, including her transformative work on triple-negative breast cancer and the p53 family signaling network. Integrating expertise in tumor suppressor genes and molecular genetics with bioinformatic analyses of high-dimensional data sets, she and her research team subtyped difficult-to-treat, triple-negative breast cancer.
ASCO noted in the award announcement “Her lab’s research has impacted many areas of science and medicine, and she has brought her lab’s discoveries to clinical impact for patients with breast cancer.”
Pietenpol serves as chief scientific advisor for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and serves on other advisory boards, including for the National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Centers. She served a six-year term as an appointee by President George W. Bush to the National Cancer Advisory Board. She was a key member of the Blue Ribbon Panel, advising then Vice President Joe Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot Initiative.