Center News Magazine: December 2009

Dr. Powell joined Memorial Sloan-Kettering in 2008 as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology with a joint appointment in Sloan-Kettering Institute's Molecular Biology Program.

An overarching area of research in Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical Service is measuring patients' quality of life after reconstruction.

For some women, an unfortunate consequence of breast cancer surgery can be a condition called lymphedema, an accumulation of lymphatic fluid (lymph stasis) that causes an abnormal swelling of an extremity.

Three young investigators who have taken significant steps toward advancing the understanding of cancer will be the recipients of this year's Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.

Patients with a rare but aggressive form of cancer now have access to a drug that has proven effective after the disease becomes resistant to standard treatments.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering investigators have shown that a new type of cancer vaccine might be more effective than previous therapies at inducing immune cells to destroy tumors.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchers have engineered stem cells from patients with familial dysautonomia, a rare genetic disorder, and used them to explore the causes of the disease and to test drugs that might be effective against it.

Shanu Modi, a physician on the Breast Cancer Medicine Service, has been named the incumbent of the Patricia and James Cayne Chair for Junior Faculty.

Eric C. Holland and Alexandra L. Joyner have been elected members of the Institute of Medicine.