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Porter Prize to Be Awarded to Komen Founder Nancy Brinker


GSPH is pleased to announce that the 18th recipient of the Porter Prize is Nancy Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She will be presented with her award at an invitation-only reception on Thursday, March 12, 2009.

The Porter Prize, awarded in recognition of an individual’s exceptional performance in health promotion and disease prevention, is named in honor of Milton Porter, who was among the first industrialists in the country to view the workplace as a site for wellness programs.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has fostered the largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists in the world. Brinker’s vision, commitment, and leadership in improving health outcomes internationally exemplify the spirit of the Porter Prize.

GSPH also has a long history in the fight against breast cancer.
• Since 1974, GSPH has directed the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) Biostatical Center and served as the architect of the studies conducted by the Pittsburgh-based NSABP—one of the world’s most influential clinical cancer programs that has transformed breast cancer treatment and prevention, and impacted the lives of millions of patients and their families around the world.
• There are eight faculty and more than 80 staff of the Department of Biostatistics at GSPH currently who work on a daily basis to design, implement, and analyze the research studies that have led to NSABP’s groundbreaking findings on breast-conserving surgery and the benefits of adjuvant chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Newer studies have focused on the efficacy of the drugs tamoxifen and raloxifene in preventing breast cancer and the benefits of genetically targeted breast cancer therapies like Herceptin.
• Most improvements made in breast cancer care during the past several decades are a direct result of NSABP studies that were designed and analyzed by faculty at GSPH.
• Ninety-five percent of all breast cancer patients’ care has been influenced to some extent by NSABP studies.

To request more information about the reception, please contact Jill Ruempler at ruempler@pitt.edu or 412-383-8849.

The Porter Prize Committee
Lee Foster, chairman
Marilyn Brooks
Donald S. Burke
Judy Davenport
Apryl Eshelman
Phil Hallen
Judith Lave
Arthur S. Levine
Lois Michaels
Stephen Thomas



2/11/2009

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