Clara Bloomfield Being Honored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology

Abstract

Dr. Clara D. Bloomfield, an internationally known expert in leukemia and lymphoma at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC), will receive the 2006 Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Achievement from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).She will receive the award during the annual ASCO meeting in Atlanta in June, 2006.ASCO is the world's leading professional organization representing physicians who treat people with cancer. The Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Achievement honors individuals who have helped revolutionize the practice of oncology through leadership and scientific vision. The award recognizes Bloomfield for more than 30 years of work in the discovery of new cancer treatments and the discovery and use of cytogenetic and molecular markers to diagnose, select treatment for and predict response of patients with leukemia or lymphoma. Her research has helped patients live longer, receive the least possible toxic therapy, and, in many cases, be cured of certain types of blood-related cancers.Notably, her pioneering clinical research in adult leukemia and lymphoma found that acute leukemia, a previously fatal disease, could be treated and cured using chemotherapy. Bloomfield is a professor of internal medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at OSU.Bloomfield joined Ohio State in 1997 as director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and deputy director of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James). Bloomfield, holder of the William G. Pace III Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Ohio State, relinquished her administrative duties in 2003 to return to research as her major activity. Ohio State created a new program, the OSU Cancer Scholar Program, and named her the charter Cancer Scholar, a position that allows her to spend most of her time on research although she remains the senior adviser to the OSUCCC - James. Bloomfield received her medical degree from the University of Chicago in 1968 and completed training in internal medicine and medical oncology at the University of Minnesota, where she joined the faculty and rose through the ranks in 7 years to full Professor of Medicine. In 1989, she moved to Buffalo, N.Y., to become chair of the department of medicine at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, a position she held until coming to OSU.She holds or has held many key leadership positions in the cancer research community at the international, national, state and local levels and has received numerous prizes and awards. Bloomfield has served as an elected member of the board of directors of a number of major international cancer research organizations, including ASCO and the American Association for Cancer Research. She recently was elected president of the Association for Patient Oriented Research.The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute is one of the nation's leading centers for research on the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The OSUCCC - James encompasses seven interdisciplinary research programs and includes more than 250 investigators who generate over $100 million annually in external funding. It is a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and OSU's James Cancer Hospital is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of America's best hospitals for cancer care.