Savage Delivers Fred Li Award Lecture
, by DCEG Staff
Sharon Savage and Judy Garber at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
On April 23, 2019, Sharon Savage, M.D., delivered the Frederick Li Award Lecture at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, entitled “The long and short of telomere biology.” She received the Fred Li Award in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the identification of Li-Fraumeni Syndrome by Dr. Frederick P. Li and Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., M.D., founding director of DCEG.
While her lecture did not focus on Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, Dr. Savage began by highlighting the importance of family and case studies of diseases that coincide with cancer risk to launch productive avenues of inquiry. She went on to describe the link between dyskeratosis congenita (DC), an inherited bone marrow failure syndrome, and cancer incidence, especially as it relates to telomere biology. DC results in shortened telomeres, a phenomenon associated with increased risk of some cancers. Watch the full video of Dr. Savage’s lecture.