Memorial lectures at Van Andel Institute have been established to honor the memory of important members of the VAI family who have lost their battle with cancer, Dr. Daniel Nathans and Dr. Han-Mo Koo.
Daniel Nathans Memorial Lecture
The Daniel Nathans Memorial Award was established in 2000 to honor the memory of Dr. Daniel Nathans, a distinguished member of the scientific community and a founding member of Van Andel Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors. During his tenure, Dr. Nathans was suffering from cancer and, in 1999, sadly, he succumbed to this disease. Dr. Nathans was a superb scientist and a very special individual. He studied a very important early virus model system for cancer, the SV40 virus. SV40 has been a powerful scientific tool. Dr. Nathans, using a restriction enzyme from his colleague Ham Smith that would cleave DNA at a specific DNA sequence, cut SV40 DNA into precise fragments. With this simple experiment, he provided the world with a gateway to recombinant DNA and a result that stimulated a field to be called genomics. In recognition of his achievements, Dr. Nathans was awarded the 1978 Nobel Prize, which he shared with his colleague Hamilton O. Smith and Swiss microbiologist Werner Arber.
The Daniel Nathans Award, conferred by Van Andel Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors, is established in perpetuity and recognizes individuals who emulate Dr. Nathans and his contributions to biomedical and cancer research. The awardee’s contributions must be far reaching and significantly benefit public health.
Recipients
- George Vande Woude, Ph.D.
- Dennis J. Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., and Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D. (on behalf of Genentech, Inc.)
- Harald zur Hausen, M.D., and Douglas R. Lowy, M.D.
- Tony Hunter, Ph.D., and Tony Pawson, Ph.D.
- Brian Druker, M.D.
- Robert A. Weinberg, Ph.D.
- Lawrence H. Einhorn, M.D.
- Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
- Richard D. Klausner, M.D.
Han-Mo Koo Memorial Lecture
Dr. Han-Mo Koo joined the Van Andel Research Institute in 1999 as one of its founding investigators. As Head of the Laboratory of Cancer Pharmacogenetics, Dr. Koo established, among others, important projects focused on the identification of genetic targets for anti-cancer drug development for melanoma and pancreatic cancer and worked tirelessly to contribute to the Institute's mission to improve health and enhance lives. Sadly, in May 2004, Dr. Koo passed away following a six-month battle with cancer. To honor his memory and scientific contributions, the Han-Mo Koo Memorial Lecture series was established in 2010.
Awardees will be selected based upon scientific achievements and notoriety and, importantly, their contributions to human health and research will align with the scientific legacy of Han-Mo Koo.
