The night's awardees included Judah Folkman, the director of the surgical research laboratory at Children's Hospital in Boston, who won the life sciences medal for founding the field of angiogenesis and demonstrating that tumors are angiogenesis-dependent. No stranger to awards, Folkman told The Scientist that the Franklin Medals, founded in 1824, have particular resonance because they symbolize an American society that values inventiveness and discovery. As for the angiogenesis field, Folkman notes the importance of better collaboration among the increasing number of science specialties--from hematology to ophthalmology--that have realized the relevance of angiogenesis to their own research.1 After all, he said, they're talking about the same molecules.
Folkman envisions eventually using angiogenesis-related therapies, possibly combined with other cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation, to achieve "cancer without disease." Says Folkman, "The major question that lies ahead is can you get to the point of converting cancer to a chronic ...
