2009 Hope Now Award

Marc Ladanyi, M.D., Chief of Molecular Diagnostics Service and Director of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology Laboratory at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY.

As head of the clinical molecular diagnostic laboratories at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Ladanyi established rapid and sensitive EGFR mutation detection assays that allowed early implementation of tumor mutation testing, making the discovery of EGFR mutations in lung cancer immediately relevant to the routine care of lung cance the tumors from more than 2,800 lung cancer patients for EGFR mutations, allowing for optimal treatment selection. Beyond EGFR mutation testing, which has become the new standard of care for patients with lung adenocarcinoma, Dr. Ladanyi has also been a leader in major efforts to introduce into routine practice even broader large scale screening of lung cancer tumor specimens for additional mutations that can be targets for new drugs, and his lead is now being followed by groups worldwide. Aside from his efforts in translating key scientific discoveries into clinical care, he also directs a basic research laboratory that focuses on understanding the distinct molecular subtypes of lung cancer using the tools of cancer genomics and molecular biology.