ACCELERATE's Dr. Gilles Vassal Awarded 2020 Rosen Research Award
Congratulations to Gilles Vassal, MD, PhD, founder and chairman of ACCELERATE, the 2020 recipient of our 5th Annual Leonard M. Rosen Memorial Research Award!
ACCELERATE is a unique global platform, working to advance innovation in cancer drug development for children and adolescents. As the foremost pediatric oncologist in Europe, Dr. Vassal has held multiple leadership positions in pediatric oncology professional societies and is currently Professor of Pediatric Oncology at Gustave Roussy, a comprehensive cancer center in France.
“ACCELERATE is a multi-stakeholder international initiative with a very simple objective: work together to accelerate innovation for children and adolescents with cancer. We work together with clinicians and researchers, with industry, with regulatory networks and with patients, parents, and survivors,” said Dr. Vassal in his acceptance of the Rosen Research Award. “We succeeded in demonstrating that it is feasible, it is valuable, and it can really move the needle by finding solutions to identified issues.”
The $10,000 annual Rosen Award pays tribute to late Children’s Cancer Cause chairman and founding member Leonard Rosen and his many years of service on the board of directors. A brilliant attorney and astute advocate, he worked to advance research and regulations that could improve the effectiveness of childhood cancer therapies.
“This award honors the legacy of my grandfather and is granted annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to childhood cancer policy and advocacy, recognizing the importance and unique challenges associated with the care and treatment of children with cancer,” said childhood cancer survivor Ben Rosen, Leonard Rosen’s grandson. “Congratulations, Dr. Vassal. On behalf of pediatric cancer survivors and patients worldwide, thank you for your dedication to fighting childhood cancer.”
Dr. Vassal has authored over 250 publications and is currently president of Innovative Therapies for Children with Cancer (ITCC), a European Union academic consortium.