Internationally Prominent Pioneer in Cancer Genetics to give 8th Annual James V. Neel Lecture
Janet Rowley, M.D., D.Sc., the Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology, and Human Genetics, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, has made seminal contributions to major advances in our understanding of genetics changes that are important in cancer. Her astute observations that were reported in 1973 indicated for the first time that chromosome translocations are a key component in the development of leukemia. Her findings, while initially challenged by the scientific community, ushered in an exciting and important new era in the field of cancer genetics that subsequently paved the way for novel diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic options in the management of various types of leukemia and lymphoma.
Dr. Rowley will present a synopsis of her influential contributions to cancer genetics at the 8th Annual James V. Neel Lecture on Wednesday, May 14th at 3:00 PM.
The talk, which is sponsored by the Department of Human Genetics, will take place in the Biomedical Science Research Building auditorium (BSRB) at the University of Michigan Medical School. A reception for Dr. Rowley and a scientific poster session featuring local genetics research will follow her lecture. For further information about this event, call 763-0682. This annual event honors one of our University’s most outstanding physician scientists, the late James V. Neel, M.D., Ph.D., who was a true pioneer foreseeing the role of genetics in the diagnoses and treatment of medical conditions.
Dr. Rowley continues to actively and passionately explore the role of genetics in cancer development and progression today. Elizabeth M. Petty, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine and Human Genetics notes that Rowley is “one of the most distinguished and highly celebrated cytogeneticists and cancer geneticists in the world today. Her astute intellectual curiosity, keen observation skills, desire to make a difference for patients, highly collaborative nature, and fearless tenacity in the pursuit of new scientific knowledge have made her a truly remarkable physician scientist. Her impressive contributions have clearly shaped the field of cancer genetics and impacted the medical management for patients around the world.”
Rowley was born in New York City in 1925, but moved to Chicago at a very early age. She earned her Bachelor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Science, and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Chicago. After obtaining her medical license, she worked as an attending physician for the Department of Public Health in Maryland for a few years. She returned to Chicago where she worked in a clinic serving children with developmental disabilities. During this time period she also worked in a clinic caring for patients with epilepsy at the University of Illinois School of Medicine. She pursued additional year-long training in England with an NIH Fellowship where she learned to identify human chromosomes and studied DNA replication. In 1962, she joined the University of Chicago, where she became a Research Associate in the Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology. Working part time while raising her family of four boys, she quickly established an illustrious career in cytogenetics and cancer genetics at the University of Chicago. She was the co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Genes, Chromosomes, and Cancer and has over four hundred and sixty peer-reviewed research publications in top science, medical, and genetics journals. In her eighties now, she continues to publish cutting-edge research, spend time with family, and pursue her personal hobbies and interests, such as swimming, biking and gardening, with enthusiasm and vigor.
Rowley’s immensely influential work has lead to multiple well deserved awards, including her Distinguished Professorship at the University of Chicago, and named awards from major scientific organizations, including the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society of Human Genetics, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Society of Hematology. She has also received the Gairdner Foundation Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award among her dozens of other distinguished awards in Medicine and Science. Most notably, she earned major global recognition and was awarded top prizes for scientists, including the Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Prize in 1998, the most distinguished honor for clinical medical research in America, and the coveted National Medal of Science which was presented to her in 1999 by President Clinton. In addition, she has been an active and vocal invited member on multiple advisory committee boards, scientific societies, and national organizations, including the National Cancer Advisory Board, and the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institute of Health and the President’s Council on Bioethics. She has been awarded eleven honorary degrees from the US and Europe and is a member of multiple honorary societies, including the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
Dr. Rowley is an outstanding scientist and compassionate individual who cares about the well-being of others and possesses the scientific savvy and drive to make significant contributions to critically important questions in human biology, basic science and medicine. Her basic research focuses on discoveries that have made, and will continue to make, a difference in our understanding and treatment of cancer. Says Petty, “Dr. Rowley is an elegant and impressive visionary leader in the fields of cytogenetics and cancer genetics. Importantly, she is also a remarkable role model who clearly has and continues to inspire the next generation of physician scientists and cancer geneticists.”
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