83R26144 BPG-D
By: Zerwas H.R. No. 1894
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, May 2013 has been designated as Brain Tumor
Awareness Month, and this occasion provides a fitting opportunity
to honor The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and its
president, Dr. Ronald A. DePinho, as well as Doctors Charles A.
Conrad, Jeffrey S. Weinberg, and Susan McGovern, whose skill and
dedication have immeasurably aided countless people in the fight
against cancer; and
WHEREAS, Founded in 1941 as part of The University of Texas
System, the MD Anderson Center is one of the world's most respected
institutions devoted exclusively to cancer research, education,
prevention, and patient care; in 2012, the center was ranked as the
nation's best hospital for cancer care in U.S. News & World
Report's "Best Hospitals" survey, and it has been rated in the top
two every year since the survey's inception in 1990; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Ronald DePinho, an internationally recognized
former professor of medicine and genetics at Harvard Medical
School, became president of MD Anderson in 2011, having served as
the founding director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer
Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; he graduated as the
salutatorian of his class at Fordham University and earned his
medical degree with distinction in microbiology and immunology from
the Albert Einstein College of Medicine; today, he focuses his
research program on the molecular underpinnings of cancer, aging,
and degenerative disorders; and
WHEREAS, A former member of the board of the American
Association for Cancer Research, Dr. DePinho has served on a number
of advisory boards in the public and private sectors and co-chaired
advisory boards for the Cancer Genome Atlas project and the
National Cancer Institute Mouse Models of Human Cancers Consortium;
his myriad accolades include the March of Dimes Basil O'Connor
Starter Scholar Research Award and the James S. McDonnell Scholar
Award, and he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences in 2010; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Charles Conrad, a graduate of The University of
Texas Medical School at Houston, joined the staff of MD Anderson in
1992 as a clinical fellow in neuro-oncology; he became director of
clinical operations in the Department of Neuro-Oncology in 2009,
and he also serves in the Department of Experimental Therapeutics;
the author of nearly 70 peer-reviewed publications, he divides his
time between active patient care and laboratory investigations and
has participated in numerous clinical trials; his many honors
include the Waun Ki Hong Award for Excellence in Team Science; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Jeffrey Weinberg is director of training in the
Department of Neurosurgery; he is also the director of Brainsuite,
an intraoperative MRI research group, and he is known for his
particular expertise in primary and metastatic brain tumors,
stereotactic radiosurgery, spinal cord tumors, intraoperative
delivery of anticancer agents, and pediatric brain tumors;
moreover, he is rotation program director for the neurosurgical
residency programs at Baylor College of Medicine and The University
of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; he has received the
Achievement Award in Science from the International Biographical
Centre in Cambridge, England, among a host of accolades, and he has
published more than 50 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, as
well as 8 book chapters; before moving to Houston, he was chief
neurosurgery resident for New York University Langone Medical
Center, Bellevue Hospital, and Veterans Affairs Hospitals in New
York City; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Susan McGovern is an assistant professor in the
Department of Radiation Oncology in the CNS/Pediatrics section;
currently, she focuses on pediatric radiation oncology, and she is
especially engaged in developing dose-volume constraints for
re-irradiation of pediatric brain tumors; a graduate of the
University of Notre Dame, she earned both her medical degree and a
doctorate through the Northwestern University Medical Scientist
Training Program; she went on to complete a transitional internship
and residency in radiation oncology at MD Anderson, followed by a
postdoctoral fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine; and
WHEREAS, During Brain Tumor Awareness Month, we celebrate the
accomplishments of those who work tirelessly to advance scientific
knowledge and deliver the highest quality of medical care to cancer
patients, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center has improved the lives
of hundreds of thousands of people through the efforts of such
distinguished professionals as Dr. DePinho, Dr. Conrad, Dr.
Weinberg, and Dr. McGovern; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas
Legislature hereby recognize May 2013 as Brain Tumor Awareness
Month and honor Dr. Ronald A. DePinho, Dr. Charles A. Conrad, Dr.
Jeffrey S. Weinberg, Dr. Susan McGovern, and the entire staff of The
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for their exceptional
work to treat and prevent brain cancer.