We’re excited to share that Dr. Mary-Claire King will be our keynote speaker at the Rivkin Center’s 12th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium. Dr. King first discovered BRCA1, the breast and ovarian cancer gene, in 1990. Her work on BRCA1 was a game-changer for how scientists thought about the role of genetics in complex diseases such as cancer.
Dr. King’s work in genetics
Dr. King, who received her PhD from UC Berkeley, is a geneticist at the University of Washington. She and her colleagues have contributed to our understanding of how many other genes, in addition to BRCA1, are involved in ovarian, breast, and other cancers. Her discoveries paved the way for genetic testing for cancer-causing mutations. As a result of her work, affected individuals can make informed decisions about cancer prevention and screening options available to them, saving countless lives.
For her contributions to human genetics, Dr. King has received many prestigious awards, including the Peter Gruber Foundation Genetics Prize (2004), the 2014 Lasker Award, the 2014 National Medal of Science, and recently, the 2018 Dan David Prize and the 2018 Shaw Prize in Medicine.
Dr. King’s work in human rights
In addition to her work in genetics, Dr. King is also well known for her human rights work. She and her lab have worked with many international organizations, including Amnesty International, Physicians for Human Rights, and Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, as well as the U.S. Army and United Nations, to help identify or reunite missing people or identify unknown remains.
About the Symposium
Dr. Mary-Claire King will give the keynote address related to the genetics of ovarian cancer on September 13, 2018, the first day of the symposium presented by the Rivkin Center in collaboration with the American Association for Cancer Research.