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.