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Dr. Samuel Waxman recieves The Prestigious Jacobi Medallion
Samuel Waxman, M.D. founder and CEO of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) received the prestigious Jacobi Medallion from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The health system recognized Dr. Waxman and eight others for making significant contributions to medicine in a virtual ceremony held this week.
This prestigious recognition represents Dr. Waxman's dedication to clinical and research excellence, and the trust placed in him by so many throughout his distinguished career as an oncologist, hematologist, research scientist, founder, and CEO of the SWCRF.
In his acceptance speech, Dr. Waxman talked about an early discovery by a virologist at Mount Sinai at the time, who discovered that differentiation therapy could be used to correct a vitamin deficiency related to pernicious anemia.
"That got me so excited I changed my direction from the B12 Folate deficiencies to the belief that we could bring a differentiation therapy to leukemia. That provided new resources and support. The institution [Mount Sinai] stood behind me. But more than any other, the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation provided the sources and resources to recruit people here and elsewhere to make a form of leukemia, Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) become a curable disease because it was due to a vitamin a deficiency as a result of a gene mistake. This is an amazing clinical outcome, and I've been on that quest to do this to other forms of cancer."
"Sam Waxman has been a great oncologist and hematologist of Mount Sinai for decades. He has formed the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. He has help fund hundreds of research projects that has led to new ideas about the causes of serious forms of cancer and the developments of new treatments," said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System.
Dr. Waxman's passion for curing cancer and research started with the idea that collaboration - across expertise, research institutions, and even national borders - is the key to breaking down barriers and achieving more breakthroughs.
His collegial approach and transparency led to, at the time, an unprecedented research collaboration in China that successfully used differentiation therapy as a less-toxic and more effective form of treatment for APL. That treatment cures more than 95% of patients with APL and is widely used to this day.
From this early landmark achievement, Dr. Waxman's collaborative research led to many more discoveries that have improved the lives of those dealing with cancer.
The Jacobi Medallion is one of Mount Sinai's highest awards to recognize its alumni for distinguished achievements in medicine.
"I am delighted to accept this award with my wife loving wife, Marion, who has been with me during my tenure at Mount Sinai. It started in 1963 when I started here as an intern. I was fortunate to have the support of amazing colleagues both in the clinic as well as in the lab," said Dr. Waxman. "Mount Sinai has gone from a wonderful hospital to a world-class medical school and health care system. It is a model in New York City and around the world."
About Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation:
The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation is an international organization dedicated to curing and preventing cancer. The Foundation is a pioneer in cancer research and its mission is to eradicate cancer by funding cutting-edge research that identifies and corrects abnormal gene function that causes cancer and develops minimally toxic treatments for patients. Through the Foundation’s collaborative group of world-class scientists, the Institute Without Walls, investigators share information and tools to speed the pace of cancer research. Since its inception in 1976, the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation has awarded more than $100 million to support the work of more than 200 researchers across the globe.