Steven Brem, MD, professor of Neurosurgery, chief of the division of Neurosurgical Oncology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received the 2012 Joel A. Gingras, Jr. award from the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA).
"I am delighted to be the first individual to receive this honor from the ABTA," said Brem. "The work of the ABTA and other patient advocacy organizations will, one day, tame the beast of brain cancer and eliminate the suffering that accompanies this incurable illness."
Dr. Brem leads the Penn Brain Tumor Center, a multi-disciplinary center which aims to rapidly move from scientific discovery to patient recovery. "The most important discoveries in the field of brain tumor research are yet to be made, but with the cancer genome project focused on brain tumors and incredible tools available for brain mapping, we are in a unique position at Penn to translate scientific breakthroughs into clinical progress," said Brem.
The Center brings clinicians and scientists together from across Penn's Perelman School of Medicine, Abramson Cancer Center, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). At the Penn Brain Tumor Center, patients and their families benefit from a circle of exceptional, personalized care to optimize outcomes for each patient.
The Joel A. Gingras, Jr. award, launched by the ABTA's Board of Directors in 2010, acknowledges exceptional organizations or individuals making a noteworthy impact on furthering the ABTA's mission to advance the understanding and treatment of brain tumors. The award is in memory of Joel A. Gingras, Jr., beloved brother and son, who was treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 after the diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor. Joel Gingras was in his prime of life when his life was taken by a malignant brain tumor. Since 1989, the Gingras family has supported the American Brain Tumor Association through the Joel A. Gingras, Jr. Memorial Fund, which surpassed the $1 million fundraising mark last year.
Brem was selected in recognition of his career-long effort to optimize outcomes for brain tumor patients worldwide. He has performed more than 3600 brain tumor surgeries, participated in over 100 clinical trials and has conducted extensive research in discovery and translation of novel inhibitors of angiogenesis and glioma progression.
The award will be presented on Saturday, March 24, at The Union League of Philadelphia during the annual JAG Gala.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.