Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, to be Honored at ACCC’s 28th National Oncology Conference in Seattle
ROCKVILLE, MD – October 17, 2011 - Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, will receive the Association of Community Cancer Centers’ 2011 Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research Award for his extensive research, leadership, and commitment to individuals with cancer. Dr. Benson is a professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Ill. He is also associate director for clinical investigations, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, at Northwestern.
He will receive the award at the ACCC 28th National Oncology Conference, to be held October 19-22, 2011, in Seattle, Washington. Among the past winners of ACCC’s prestigious annual Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research Award are David S. Alberts, MD; Charles M. Balch, MD, FACS; David H. Johnson, MD; Lillian M. Nail, PhD, RN, FAAN; Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP; Saul Rivkin, MD; Henry Lynch, MD; and Vincent DeVita, Jr, MD.
Dr. Benson’s research is primarily in the areas of gastrointestinal cancer clinical trials, cancer clinical trials, biologic therapies, phase I cancer clinical trials, and cancer guideline development. He has authored or co-authored numerous reports, reviews, and book chapters focusing on these topics. His research in biologics, cancer therapy, and cancer prevention has been awarded funding from a variety of sources including the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Benson is chair of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group’s Gastrointestinal Committee and its Data Monitoring Committee.
He has been honored with a number of awards, including most recently the ASCO Statesman Award and the Woman’s Board of Northwestern Memorial Hospital Compassionate Care Award.
Dr. Benson was an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Illinois and co-medical director for the National Public Health Service in Champaign, Ill. He then served as a clinical oncology fellow at the University of Wisconsin Clinical Cancer Center, where he received an American Cancer Society Fellowship Award, prior to joining the faculty at Northwestern.
Dr. Benson served as ACCC President, 2010-2011, and has been on ACCC’s board of directors since 2003. During that time, he has served on ACCC’s Strategic Planning Committee, Editorial Committee, New Technology Committee, Corporate Development Committee, Awards Committee, Bylaws Committee, Program Committee, and Membership Committee.
Dr. Benson has served on a number of committees for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and is currently co-chair of the Colorectal Cancer Guidelines Committee and the Radiofrequency Ablation Committee. In addition, he is a member of several medical societies, and served as president of the Illinois Medical Oncology Society, was president of the International Society of GI Oncology, and is a member of the board of directors of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). He was appointed as a Scientific Advisory Board member of both the Patient Advocacy Foundation and the National Patient Advocacy Foundation.
Dr. Benson earned his medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, following which he completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals.
Since 1974, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has served as the leading national multidisciplinary organization that sets the standard for quality care for patients with cancer. ACCC is dedicated to promoting professional learning opportunities and to providing a forum for members to network and enhance their skills in the business, clinical and management aspects of care for the cancer community. More than 17,000 cancer care professionals from approximately 900 hospitals and more than 1,200 private practices are affiliated with ACCC. Our unique membership includes all members of the cancer care team: medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, cancer program administrators and medical directors, pharmacists, oncology nurses, oncology social workers, and cancer program data managers. For more information, visit ACCC's website at www.accc-cancer.org. Follow us on Facebook and on ACCCBuzz, ACCC's online blog, www.acccbuzz.wordpress.com.
