Awards History

Types of Awards

Center of Excellence

This board-designated award is FAMRI’s Centerpiece for linking physicians and scientists from various disciplines into multidisciplinary programs in patient care and research. The Board of Trustees has placed a moratorium on these applications.

Clinical Innovators

This three-year award is to stimulate novel medical and clinical scientific research studies on the effects of exposure to tobacco smoke and to foster innovative breakthroughs as well as creative collaborations through these grants. Learn more about this $100,000 per year award. Indirect costs are provided.

Young Clinical Scientists

This multi-year award is to help prepare and support new clinical investigators, particularly research fellows and junior faculty members, to provide the bridge between the clinic and the laboratory for the critical translation of basic research findings into diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Fellow awards are for $75,000 per year; faculty level awards are for $100,000 per year plus indirect costs. Learn about eligibility.

Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professors

This board-designated award is named for the late Dr. William Cahan, a surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for over 50 years, who was a pioneer in the national movement to fight the health hazards of tobacco and second hand smoke. The award is for three-years at $200,000 per year and is made in recognition of the recipients’ ongoing work in combating the diseases caused by exposure to second hand tobacco smoke.

2002 Awardees

Center of Excellence

• University of California, San Francisco, to create a Flight Attendant Study, serving former and current flight attendants who were exposed to second hand tobacco smoke in airline cabins. The Center focuses on pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. The Director and Co-Director of the Center are Neal L. Benowitz, M.D. and Rita F. Redberg, M.D. [View Abstract]

Clinical Innovators

• Scott Antonia, M.D., H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, University of South Florida, for the development of a tumor vaccine for lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Danny Bluestein, Ph.D., State University of New York at Stony Brook, to research second hand tobacco smoke platelet activation and cardiovascular risk. [View Abstract]

• Joseph Califano, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research the chromosomal instability in head and neck cancer. [View Abstract]

• Xingming Deng, M.D., Ph.D., University of Florida Shands Cancer Center, to research the role of Bc12 in Nicotine-induced survival signaling and chemoresistance in human lung cancer cells. [View Abstract]

• Ronald Gartenhaus, M.D., University of Maryland, to research the association between transformed follicular lymphoma and smoke. [View Abstract]

• Sergei Grando, M.D., University of California, Davis, to research precocious skin aging due to second hand tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• Randolph Hastings, M.D., Ph.D., VA San Diego Healthcare System, to research the nucleolar expression of PTHrP and outcome in non-small cell lung cancer. Leonard Deftos, M.D., is the current PI on this grant. [View Abstract]

• Jesse Joad, M.D., University of California, Davis, to research the adverse effects of second hand tobacco smoke on RSV bronchiolitis by cysteinyl leukotriene. [View Abstract]

• Lester Kobzik, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard School of Public Health, to research respiratory infections due to exposure to second hand tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• David Lee, Ph.D., University of Miami School of Medicine, to research the adverse effects of second hand tobacco smoke on the health status of youth. [View Abstract]

• David Levy, Ph.D., Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, to research effects of tobacco control policies on health problems associated with second hand smoke, including the use of stimulation models to predict and understand public health problems. [View Abstract]

• Matthew L. Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, to research LOH and gene expression profiles in lung carcinoma. [View Abstract]

• John L. Pauly, Ph.D., Roswell Park Cancer Institute, to research the functional studies of human lung macrophages. [View Abstract]

• Roberto Pili, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research modulation of tumor response to retinoids. [View Abstract]

• Ronald Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research adenoviral bladder cancer gene therapy. [View Abstract]

• Lei Xiao, Ph.D., University of Florida College of Medicine, to research PKC-ε expression on the outcome of chemotherapy. [View Abstract]

Young Clinical Scientists

• Wael Al-Delaimy, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, to study the risk of lung cancer and coronary heart disease among women exposed to second hand tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• Rhoda Alani, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to study how second hand tobacco smoke exposure causes the development of cervical and head and neck cancers and inhibitors as therapies for these malignancies. [View Abstract]

• Ruth Belin, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research second hand tobacco smoke and thyroid disease. [View Abstract]

• Shyam Biswal, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, to research lung cancer susceptibility and chemoprevention. [View Abstract]

• Paul Cairns, Ph.D., Fox Chase Cancer Center, to research the early detection of cancer by hypermethylation. [View Abstract]

• Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D., University of Miami, to research markers and mechanisms for head and neck cancer. [View Abstract]

• Andrew Hyland, Ph.D., Roswell Park Cancer Institute, to research the economic behavioral and disease impact of clean air. [View Abstract]

• Francine Laden, Sc.D., Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to research second hand tobacco smoke exposure and health in a blue-collar population. [View Abstract]

• Daqing Li, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, to research MRN-targeted chemo sensitization for oral cancer. [View Abstract]

• David Loeb, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research the role of WT1 in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. [View Abstract]

• David Miller, Sc.D., Harvard School of Public Health, to research the molecular epidemiology of second hand tobacco smoke associated with lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Archana Mishra, M.D., Erie County Medical Center, to research the impact of second hand tobacco smoke on the respiratory health of non-smoking adults. [View Abstract]

• Neil Watkins, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research that cyclopamine inhibits hedgehog signaling and growth in lung cancer cells. [View Abstract]

Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professors

• Michael B. Siegel, M.D., Boston University School of Public Health, to explore ways to protect workers and the public from second hand tobacco smoke in relation to the impact of clean indoor air policies on second hand tobacco smoke exposure and smoking behavior.

• Nancy Rigotti, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, to seed the medical community with new well-trained, highly-motivated professionals in tobacco control and advance knowledge about the patterns and determinants of tobacco use in young adults.

• James Repace, M.Sc., Repace Associates, Inc., to research ways to eliminate smoking in the hospitality industry, which are the venues having the highest worker exposure to second hand tobacco smoke.

• Stephen S. Hecht, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, to research biomarkers of tobacco-specific carcinogen uptake.

• Stanton A. Glantz, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, to conduct research on passive smoking and tobacco control.

• Ronald M. Davis, M.D., Henry Ford Health System, to investigate tobacco control at the local, state and national levels to improve the effectiveness of smoking cessation activities.

• David M. Burns, M.D., University of California, San Diego, to investigate the role of restrictions on smoking in the work place.

• Alan Blum, M.D., University of Alabama, to document the history of flight attendants’ exposure to second hand tobacco smoke in airline cabins.

2003 Awardees

Clinical Innovators

• Theodore P. Abraham, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research peripheral vascular hemodynamics and ventricular mechanics in passive smokers. [View Abstract]

• Douglas W. Ball, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research regulation of non-small cell lung cancer by notch. [View Abstract]

• Lisa A. Bero, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, to research the development of smoking restrictions on airlines.

• Anthony Brown, B.S., Roswell Park Cancer Institute, to develop a digital library containing key tobacco events, studies, documents and promotions for tobacco research. [Site: http://tobaccodocuments.org]

• Karen Butter, MLS, University California, San Francisco, to develop a digital library as a repository for tobacco documents containing science on the effects of exposure to second hand tobacco smoke. [Site: http://bat.library.ucsf.edu]

• Teresa De Marco, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, to research the effects of second hand smoke on exercise capacity and clinical outcomes in pulmonary arterial hypertension. [View Abstract]

• Kirsten E. Fleischmann, M.D., MPH University of California, San Francisco, to research passive smoking and outcomes in congestive heart failure. [View Abstract]

• Alexey Fomenkov, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research the role of EGRF and its downstream targets in head and neck cancers of smoking patients. [View Abstract]

• Ephraim J. Fuchs, M.D., The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, to research tumor vaccine after nonmyeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation for kidney cancer. [View Abstract]

• Daniel L. Hamilos, M.D., Washington University School of Medicine, to research pathogenesis of chronic sinusitis in relationship to tobacco smoke exposure. [View Abstract]

• Lori Kornberg, B.S., Ph.D., University of Florida, to research adenoviral gene transfer of FRNK and p53 for treatment of head and neck cancer. [View Abstract]

• David J. Lee, Ph.D., University of Miami School of Medicine, to research serum cotinine and middle ear disease in children and adolescents. [View Abstract]

• Martin C. Mahoney, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, to research airway resistance and cytogenetic abnormalities associated with tobacco smoke exposure. [View Abstract]

• Pierre P. Massion, M.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center, to research the identification of new molecular targets in lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Ramin Mirhashemi, M.D., University of Miami School of Medicine, to research genetic predisposition to second hand tobacco smoke in cervical diseases. [View Abstract]

• Jan S. Moreb, M.D., University of Florida College of Medicine, to research the role of ALDHs in the pathogenesis and biology of lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Satya Narayan, Ph.D., University of Florida, to research the mechanisms of second hand smoking induced breast carcinogenesis. [View Abstract]

• Justin D. Pearlman, M.D., Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, to produce an advanced cardiovascular imaging center. [View Abstract]

• Venu Raman, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research deciphering genetic alterations caused by second hand tobacco smoke in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. [View Abstract]

• Richard A. Robbins, M.D., Carl T. Hayden Medical Research Foundation, to research noninvasive assessment of the lower respiratory tract in response to second hand tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• Paul Switzer, Ph.D., Stanford University, to research quantifying human exposure to second hand tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• Barry Trink, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research the cloning of a putative oncogene on 20q11. [View Abstract]

• Brian J. F. Wong, M.D., Ph.D., University of California Irvine, to research optical diagnosis of early laryngeal cancer. [View Abstract]

Young Clinical Scientists

• Betsy J. Barnes, Ph.D., The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, to research the role of IRF-5 as a tumor suppressor in non-small cell lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Raka Bhattacharya, Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research the role of HMG-I/Y in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Fred Bunz, M.D., Ph.D., The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, to research the roles of checkpoint kinases in the responses of human cancer cells to DNA damage. [View Abstract]

• Robert L. Ferris, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, to research apoptosis of effector T cells in cancer regarding immune therapy. [View Abstract]

• Robert F. Foronjy, M.D., Columbia University, to research the effect of PLTP induction in smokers. [View Abstract]

• Maureen R. Horton, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research matrix induced epithelial activation in bronchitis. [View Abstract]

• Chien-Fu Hung, Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research the development of novel human immunology assays for human HPV vaccine trials. [View Abstract]

• Edgar A. Jaimes, M.D., University of Miami School of Medicine, to research mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction in smokers. [View Abstract]

• Saeed R. Khan, M.S., Ph.D., The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, to research novel drug development for breast cancer. [View Abstract]

• Andreea A. Nanci, M.D., University of California, Irvine, to research apoptosis or necrosis to determine how dendritic cells cope with death. [View Abstract]

• Ben H. Park, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research estrogen receptor signaling in normal and cancerous breast epithelial cells. [View Abstract]

• Edward S. Peters, D.M.D., Sc.D., Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, to research second hand tobacco smoke and head and neck cancer. [View Abstract]

• Debabrata Saha, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern, to research COX-2 regulation in response to combined therapy. [View Abstract]

• Hamisu M. Salihu, Ph.D., The University of Alabama at Birmingham, to research the effect of second hand smoke on fetal body and brain size. [View Abstract]

• Robert E. Walter, M.D., MPH, Boston University School of Medicine, to research biomarkers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [View Abstract]

• Jonathan P. Winickoff, M.D., MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital, to research changing pediatric practices to address second hand smoke exposure. [View Abstract]

Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professors

• John F. Banzhaf, III, J.D., George Washington University Law School, for a legal research project and symposium.

• Allan M. Brandt, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, to write a history on policy studies in tobacco control.

• Richard D. Hurt, M.D., Mayo Clinic, to produce a health assessment of flight attendants previously exposed to second hand tobacco smoke.

• Thomas L. Petty, M.D., University of Colorado, to promote knowledge about new technologies and approaches to the early diagnosis of lung cancer and related disorders.

• Jonathan M. Samet, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, to research reducing the risks of second hand tobacco smoke globally.

2004 Awardees

Center of Excellence

• Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, to support basic and clinical research with a defined focus on lung cancer caused by second hand and mainstream tobacco smoke by developing innovative approaches towards the prevention, early diagnosis and improved treatment of lung cancer based on the most recent advances in structural and functional analysis of human genes, greatly assisted by the human genome project. The Director and Co-Director are Varda Rotter, Ph.D., and Gideon Rechavi, M.D., Ph.D. [View Abstract]

Clinical Innovators

• Talissa Ann Altes, M.D., University of Virginia, to research a new method to detect early changes of emphysema in persons exposed to second hand cigarette smoke. [View Abstract]

• Douglas A. Arenberg, M.D., University of Michigan, to research a transgenic animal model to control the angiogenic switch in lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• William P. Bennett, M.D., Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope, to research methylation in lung cancers of smokers and nonsmokers. [View Abstract]

• Danny Bluestein, Ph.D., State University of New York at Stony Brook, to research thrombogenic effects of smoke and nicotine on platelets and endothelium. [View Abstract]

• Johnny L. Carson, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for clinical and laboratory studies of human nasal epithelium. [View Abstract]

• Scott W. Cousins, M.D., Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, to research inflammation, smoking and blindness from ocular neovascularization. [View Abstract]

• Jeanine D’Armiento, M.D., Ph.D., Columbia University, to research passive smoke exposure in asthmatics and the relationship to matrix metalloproteases. [View Abstract]

• Joel G. Fletcher, M.D., Mayo Clinic, to research ECG-gated multidetector CT of aortic distensibility. [View Abstract]

• Yuman Fong, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to research early detection and screening of smoking-related cancers by use of green fluorescent protein expressing herpes simplex virus. [View Abstract]

• Deborah Gentile, M.D., Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, to research ontogeny of cytokine immune responses and the role of second hand tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• Mark S. Gold, M.D., University of Florida, to research second hand tobacco smoke awareness, competency and practice and education of physicians and medical students. [View Abstract]

• Ellen J. Hahn, DNS, University of Kentucky, to research reducing second hand tobacco smoke and the cardiac and asthma outcome. [View Abstract]

• Alexander M. Ishov, Ph.D., University of Florida, to research the implication of potential tumor suppression functions of Daxx in c-met dependent lung malignancy. [View Abstract]

• Francine L. Jacobson, M.D., MPH, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, to research risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [View Abstract]

• Jean Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research epithelium and immunomodulation in chronic rhinosinusitis. [View Abstract]

• Landon S. King, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research smoke-induced dysregulation of airway aquaporins. [View Abstract]

• Lars Klareskog, M.D., Ph.D., Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, to research tobacco-caused rheumatoid arthritis: genes, mechanisms and specific therapy. [View Abstract]

• Andrew P. Lane, M.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research chronic sinusitis and the airline cabin environment. [View Abstract]

• Yijun Liu, Ph.D., University of Florida, to research functional MRI investigation of impaired leptin regulation due to second hand smoke. [View Abstract]

• James W. Rocco, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, to research targeting the Ink4a/Arf locus in head and neck cancer. [View Abstract]

• Charles Rudin, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research small molecule inhibitors of Bcl2 as novel therapeutics for lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Barry C. Starcher, Ph.D., University of Texas Health Center at Tyler, to research passive cigarette smoke in the pathogenesis of skin cancer. [View Abstract]

• Robert S. Stearman, Ph.D., University of Colorado School of Medicine, to research epigenetic control of human prostacyclin synthase. [View Abstract]

• Yunchao Su, M.D., Ph.D., University of Florida, to research the effects of side-stream smoke on lung endothelial angiogenesis induced by epidermal growth factor. [View Abstract]

• Scott Wadler, M.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell University, to research patterns of gene expression in early lung lesions. [View Abstract]

• Jeffrey S. Wolf, M.D., University of Pennsylvania, to research correlation of chronic sinusitis and tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• Richard J. Wong, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to research sensitivity of tobacco-induced cancer to herpes viral oncolysis. [View Abstract]

• Michael Mingzhao Xing, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research BRAF mutation and other common genetic and epigenetic alterations in thyroid cancer and the relationship with smoking and clinical applications. [View Abstract]

• Cynthia A. Zahnow, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research activation of CUBGP1 in breast by second hand tobacco smoke. [View Abstract]

• JianLiang Zhang, Ph.D., University of Florida, to research second hand tobacco smoke-induced cell death via the nitric oxide/cytochrome C oxidase signaling. [View Abstract]

• Sergey I. Zharikov, Ph.D., University of Florida, to research effects of cigarette smoke on the L-arginine/NO Pathway in pulmonary endothelial cells. [View Abstract]

Young Clinical Scientists

• Alexey V. Bazarov, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, to research combinatorial treatment modalities of anti-angiogenic and anti-HIF therapy in invasive breast and brain cancers. [View Abstract]

• Hetty E. Carraway, M.D., Johns Hopkins University, to research promoter hypermethylation as a molecular marker for breast cancer. [View Abstract]

• Noam A. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, to research the contribution of second hand tobacco smoke to sinusitis. [View Abstract]

• Christopher D. Coldren, Ph.D., University of Colorado, to research expression profiling of blood in lung cancer chemoprevention. [View Abstract]

• Olga Y. Gorlova, Ph.D., University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, to research second hand tobacco smoke and lung cancer risk. [View Abstract]

• Balazs Halmos, M.D., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, to research the development of stem cell model systems of lung cancer and tobacco-damaged airway epithelium. [View Abstract]

• Zhaohui Jin, M.D., University of Florida, to research the role of BAD in nicotine/NNK signaling pathways in human lung cancer cells. [View Abstract]

• Sunil S. Karhadkar, MBBS, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to research hedgehog signaling links to cancer and injury repair in bladder epithelium. [View Abstract]

• Venkateshwar Keshamouni, Ph.D., University of Michigan, to research PPAR-gamma in tumorigenesis and therapy of non-small cell lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Stephen Y. Lai, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, to research erythropoietin signaling in head and neck cancer. [View Abstract]

• Byron K. Lee, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, to research the effect of second hand smoke on the risk of developing a trial fibrillation in patients with pacemakers and defibrillators. [View Abstract]

• Pamela M. Ling, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, to research reversing tobacco market research on young adults. [View Abstract]

• Petru Liuba, M.D., Ph.D., Lund University, Sweden, to research the impact of passive smoking on early atherosclerosis in children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (ImPasSE). [View Abstract]

• Dana P. McGlothlin, M.D., University of California, San Francisco, to research cardiovascular effects of second hand smoke during pregnancy. [View Abstract]

• Sarah J. McKinley, M.D., University of Colorado, to research aging and COPD that is cellular senescence in emphysema. [View Abstract]

• Richard J. Rogers, M.D., Ph.D., University of Florida, to research nicotine regulation of manganese superoxide dismutase. [View Abstract]

• Guilio R. Romeo, M.D., Harvard University Medical School, to research mechanisms and consequences of profiling-1 increase in atherogenesis: Aim 2. [View Abstract]

• Catherine M. Shachaf, Ph.D., Stanford University, to research targeting MYC for the treatment of lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Edmond D. Shenassa, Sc.D., The Miriam Hospital, to research exposure to second hand smoke and infantile colic. [View Abstract]

• Laura A. Stabile, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, to research targeting the estrogen receptor and epidermal growth factor receptor for lung cancer therapy. [View Abstract]

• Jian Yu, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, to research transcriptional regulation of PUMA in lung cancer. [View Abstract]

• Jin Zhang, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, to research molecular mechanisms of spatiotemporal regulation of leukocyte chemotaxis and its dysregulation involved in chronic sinusitis. [View Abstract]

• Wei Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard University School of Public Health, to research smoking, polymorphisms and lung cancer prognosis. [View Abstract]

Dr. William Cahan Distinguished Professors

• Gregory N. Connolly, DMD, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health, to study the economic and employment impact of clean in-door air in five smoke-free states on the hospitality industry.

• Margaret R. Spitz, M.D., MPH, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, to further the industry of the molecular mechanisms underlying individual differences in susceptibility to tobacco-related cancer and to extend the findings from the individual projects in FAMRI’s Center at the Weizmann Institute.

Questions or problems regarding the use of this Web site should be submitted to famri@aibs.org.