2002 Innovations Award

Samir Hanash, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Pediatrics

Dr. Sam Hanash's pioneering work has focused on the implementation of novel strategies for profiling gene expression using proteomics. Long before proteomics became popular, he began exploring global profiling strategies for the molecular classification of cancer and development of diagnostic markers, which include leukemia, lung cancer and breast cancer. He is an outstanding leader who combined traditional techniques with newly innovated tools to tackle unsolved problems in cancer research.

With this new profiling tool, involving 2D gels, he has achieved a landmark goal by uncovering a number of lymphoid and myeloid markers, such as Op18, which has been the subject of over 200 publications worldwide, and was cloned by his laboratory for the first time. These outstanding findings allowed him to define the role of Op18 as a potential therapeutic target in cancer.

Dr. Hanash contributed to the development of immobilized pH gradients for the two-dimensional separation of complex protein mixtures. This process has become a standard tool for proteomics. Other innovative technologies being developed in Dr. Hanash's lab include the development of potentially automatable liquid-based protein separations and the development of protein microarrays that provide high throughput scanning of cell and tissue proteomes. He was recently elected as the first President of HuPO, the Human Proteome Organization. This prestigious international society will help set the research agenda in proteomics for years to come.

As proven by Dr. Hanash's record of outstanding achievement in this emerging technology as well as his leadership, he is a deserving recipient of the Medical School Award in Innovation.