OHSU professor receives major honor in Germany

Brian J. Druker, co-director of the Center for Hematologic Malignancies in the Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, is the recipient of the Robert Koch Prize for 2005, worth 100,000 euro (about $121,000 U.S.).

The Robert Koch Foundation in Berlin said Friday Druker earned the honor for for his pioneering discoveries concerning the development and therapy of chronic myelogenous leukemia, a type of blood cancer.

He received the prize in recognition of his research into the identification and characterization of BCR-ABL oncogene substrates and the significance of activated tyrosine kinases in signaling and cellular transformation.

In the course of his work, Druker discovered that the ABL protein tyrosine kinase in the cell plays a decisive role in the development of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a malignant disease of the body's blood-forming system. This discovery led to the development of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib, which can inhibit the growth of the cells that cause CML. Normal cells are not damaged during therapy with imatinib. These findings were confirmed in clinical studies and led to a new, successful treatment for this type of blood cancer.

Druker received the award Friday from Dr. Klaus Theo Schroder, Germany's secretary of state, at the Federal Ministry for Health and Social Security, at Langenbeck-Virchow House in Berlin.

The Robert Koch Prize, awarded annually, is one of the highest-ranking scientific awards in Germany.