|
The pioneer in the use of combination chemotherapy
Dr. Emil (Tom) Frei is the Director and Physician-in-Chief Emeritus and the first Richard and Susan Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the inaugural recipient of the American Academy of Cancer Research Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research, having been presented the honor in March 2004. In 1983, Dr. Frei was co-recipient of the prestigious Charles E. Kettering Prize for Cancer Research from the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, a prize shared with Dr. Emil Freireich. Drs. Frei and Freireich developed the world's first treatment leading to a complete cure for leukemia patients. Their team was the first to devise the revolutionary approach of combination chemotherapy using several drugs in combination to treat patients, a practice which has gained widespread acceptance. The method is credited by other specialists as the single most important advance in the past quarter century in saving the lives of persons with cancer. Dr. Frei previously served as a member of Adherex's Board of Directors. | 