Lawrence Marnett, Ph.D.
Marnett heads effort to highlight chemistry’s role in cancer care
As cancer care evolves, the role of the chemist has become more important than ever before. For that reason, Lawrence Marnett, Ph.D., director of the A.B. Hancock Jr. Memorial Laboratory for Cancer Research, has been working as chair of the Chemistry in Cancer Research group for the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR).
Marnett began his role leading the newly created working group to bring more focus on chemistrywithin the AACR. He and other colleagues have teamed up with representatives from leading pharmaceutical companies to highlight the importance of the work of chemists.
“Chemistry plays a vital role in cancer care. Most new drugs and imaging agents are developed by teams of cancer biologists and chemists working together. And analytical chemistry is a critical component of Proteomics, which is a big area of interest in cancer research,” said Marnett.
Marnett said the group has been working for about a year, and already sees the impact on the AACR annual meeting. “We've seen a big increase in the number of abstracts submitted for the annual meeting. We've also created an annual symposium called 'Drugs on the Horizon.'” The group is also working on a conference for young investigators planned for the fall.
Marnett said the Chemistry in Cancer Research group is only the second such working group created by the AACR, following the Women in Cancer Research group.