The Claudia Cohen Research Foundation Awards Prizes to Doctors Advancing Rare Gynecological Cancer Research

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Claudia Cohen Research Foundation has awarded to each of Michael J. Birrer, MD, PhD and Karen Lu, MD the prestigious Claudia Cohen Research Foundation Prize for Outstanding Gynecologic Research; the recipients were chosen by prior award winners for their contributions to the field of hereditary gynecological cancer research.  After decades at Harvard with a primary focus on the molecular origins of ovarian cancer, Dr. Birrer has just been named the director of the University of Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Dr. Lu is chair of the Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine Department at the University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center; she has specialized in prevention and early detection of endometrial and ovarian cancers.

"We are incredibly proud to honor Dr. Birrer and Dr. Lu for their on-going research, trials and successes in preventing and detecting gynecologic cancers," said Samantha Perelman, a member of the Foundation's Board.  "Like millions of women throughout the country, my mother fought hard against gynecological cancer.  The innovative work of Drs. Birrer and Lu is a source of hope, so that someday women will no longer endure the battle that my mother and countless other families have suffered.  Their leadership and accomplishments deserve this recognition, and my family is so proud to be able to do so."

This is the seventh annual prize from the Claudia Cohen Research Foundation, which was formed in honor of Claudia Cohen, who lost her battle with uterine leiomyosarcoma in 2007. Ms. Cohen was a highly respected journalist and philanthropist. The Claudia Cohen Research Foundation was founded by Ms. Cohen's daughter, Samantha Perelman, along with her sisters Caleigh and Debra, to foster cutting- edge research in gynecologic cancer.

According to The American Cancer Society, it is estimated that in 2015, more than 98,000 women are diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer every year and about 30,000 women died from these cancers. Gynecologic cancers include cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancers.

The Claudia Cohen Prize for Outstanding Gynecologic Researcher is one of six prizes: four ovarian cancer grants, one endometrial research grant, and one gynecologic cancer grant announced during the Society of Gynecologic Oncology's Annual Meeting. The prize was distributed in association with The Foundation for Women's Cancer and will be included in ongoing bios of the doctors and their work.

About the Claudia Cohen Research Foundation

The Claudia Cohen Research Foundation, established in 2009, is dedicated exclusively to support research to improve the treatment, control, and prevention of gynecologic cancer, with a special emphasis on gynecologic sarcoma. The purpose of The Claudia Cohen Prize for Outstanding Gynecologic Cancer Research is to champion the achievement of leaders in cutting-edge scientific research. To learn more about the Foundation, please visit www.claudiacohenfoundation.org.

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SOURCE Claudia Cohen Research Foundation