35th Annual meeting
The 35th annual ASPO meeting was held March 5-8, 2011 and was a great success! In addition to the previously publicized symposia, there were special presentations, 2 poster presentations and receptions, a workshop for associate directors and program leaders of cancer prevention and control, and a gala dinner to celebrate ASPO’s 35 years.
The Distinguished Achievement Award was presented to Patricia A. Ganz, MD, UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Her presentation was titled: "Cancer Prevention in Patients and Survivors".
The Joseph W. Cullen Award was presented to Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD, UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He presented, "Tobacco Control in Youth: the Essential Ingredients".
Best Poster Award:
Elizabeth Ryan, PhD, et al., Colorado State University, was the winner of the Best Poster Award for her poster titled "Dietary Changes in microbial metabolism for Colon Cancer Control and Prevention".
Three Travel Awards were given to top abstracts attending both the ASPO meeting and NCI Multilevel Intervention across the Cancer Care Continuum Conference:
Jesse Plasack, PhD, et al., The Ohio State University, "An Investigation of the Association Between Glioma and Socioeconomic Status: Effects of Group-level Spatial Autocorrelation" ;
Brandy-Jo Milliron et al., Wake Forest University School of Medicine, "Effects of a Point-of-Purchase Healthy Shopping Intervention on Shopping Basket Nutrient Content: A Randomized Controlled Trial" ; and
Min Lian, PhD, et al., Washington University St. Louis, "Geographic Disparity in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Survival: A Prospective Multilevel Study".
Honorable Mention Poster Honors:
Katie Devine, PhD, et al., University of Rochester, "Comparison of the Problems Experienced by Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Mothers of Children Recently Diagnosed with Cancer" ;
Andrea Floyd, PhD, et al., East Tennessee State University, "Associations Among Relationship Strength, Sexual Functioning and Distress in Women Diagnosed with Cancer during Young Adulthood" ; and
G. Quinn, et al., "What is a biobank and do they have a drive-through?".
Best student Poster Awards:
1) Rebecca Campo, PhD, et al., University of Utah, "Communication Preferences and Challenges Regarding BRCA2 and BRCA2 Risk Assessment and Genetic Counseling" ;
2) Suguna Badiga, et al., University of Alabama - Birmingham, "Higher Folate and Risk of Cervical pre-cancer in the absence of DHFR 19 bp Del/Del genotype" ; and
3) Lucas N. Wassira, et al., UN- Las Vegas, "The Determinants of Colorectal Cancer Survival Disparities".
34th Annual meeting
The ASPO meeting held in Bethesda, MD, March 21-23, 2010, was a rousing success. In addition to the previously publicized symposia, there were special presentations, poster reception, workshop for associate directors and program leaders of cancer prevention and control, and a wonderful social mixer.
The Distinguished Achievement Award was presented to Paul F. Engstrom, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center. His presentation was titled: "Cancer Prevention and Control Research: Four Decades of Progress".
The Joseph W. Cullen Award was presented to Jasjit Ahluwalia, MD, MPH, University of Minnesota Medical School. He discussed, "Tobacco Dependence and Smoking Cessation in African-Americans – Some Answers, Many Questions"
Best Poster Award:
Anne Kirchhoff, PhD, et al., University of Washington, was the winner of the Best Poster Award for her poster titled "Occupational Status of Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study".
Honorable Mention Poster Honors:
Alexander Prokhorov, MD, PhD, et al., UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, "Eliminating Secondhand Smoke Exposure from Mexican-American Households: Outcomes from Project CLEAN AIR – SAFE AIR (CASA)";
Linda Patrick-Miller, PhD, et al., UMDNJ, "When Parents Disclose BRCA1/2 Test Results: Their Perceptions of Offspring Response"; and
Melany Cueva, EdD, Alaska Native Tribal Consortium, ,"It is a Topic Not to be Quiet About".
Best Student Poster Awards:
1) Sara Schonfeld, PhD, et al., National Cancer Institute, "The Effect of Changing Breast Cancer Incidence Rates on the Calibration of the Gail Model"; and
2) Catherine Richards, PhD, et al., Columbia University, "Neighborhood Socio-Econimic Status and Individual Smoking Status Interact to Predict PAH-DNA Adduct Levels in Prostate Tissue".
33rd Annual meeting
Abundant sunshine and warm temperatures made for a very enjoyable ASPO meeting held in Tampa, Florida, March 8-10, 2009. In addition to the previously publicized symposia, there were special presentations and a wonderful social mixer complete with steel drummers!
The Presidential Address was given by outgoing ASPO President James Marshall, PhD, of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. His talk was titled, “Epidemiology: Keeping an Eye on the Ball”.
The Distinguished Achievement Award was presented to Mitchell H. Gail, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute. His presentation was titled: “Risk Models and Breast Cancer Prevention”.
The Joseph W. Cullen Award was presented posthumously to Ronald Davis, MD, Director, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Immediate Past President of the American Medical Association.
Best Poster Award:
Kara Leventhal, PhD, et al., Georgetown University, was the winner of the Best Poster Award for her poster titled “Predictors of Cancer Risk Assessment Accuracy in Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients”. Honorable Mention went to: Pascal Jean-Pierre, PhD, and Oxana Palesh, PhD, both of the University of Rochester. Titles of their Posters respectively were: Effect of Paxil on Memory Problems in 781 Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy: A URCC CCOP Study; and Depression, Fatigue and Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm among Cancer Patients, Caregivers and Older Adults .
Best student Poster Awards:
1) Hui Zhao, PhD, et al., UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, “Genetic polymorphisms of ADPRT, XRCC1, and APE1 and levels of in vitro BPDE–induced DNA adducts in healthy controls“; and 2) Michelle Janelsins, PhD, et al. , University of Rochester, "Tai Chi Chuan Alters Insulin and Related Molecules in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Pilot Study “.
Brian Sprague, PhD, University of Wisconsin – Madison, is the recipient of the Prevent Cancer Foundation Fellowship sponsored by ASPO and the Prevent Cancer Foundation and and funded by the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The title of his research is "“Modifiable risk factors for second breast cancer events after a diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCISl".
Educational Workshops were again offered at ASPO this year. They included:
1) Research Methodology for Cancer Prevention Intervention Studies, Instructor: Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, and 2) Using Bioinformatics Tools to Interpret and design Molecular Epidemiology Studies , Instructor: David Fenstermarcher, PhD.
Heidi Sahel
ASPO National Office
330 WARF Bldg., 610 Walnut Street
Madison, WI 53726-2397
Phone: (608) 263-9515
Fax: (608) 263-4497
Email: