Each year, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation presents awards to those in the community who have made an extraordinary impact in the fight against mesothelioma. The 2019 mesothelioma awards were presented during the Awards Dinner at the 2019 International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma on Monday, March 25.
Bruce Vento Hope-Builder Award
This mesothelioma award recognizes an individual or individuals who create hope for mesothelioma patients and their loved ones through advocacy. In 2019, the Conafay Group and Chip Gardiner received the Bruce Vento Hope-Builder Award.
The Conafay Group has been instrumental in the first appropriation toward the establishment of a national mesothelioma patient registry. It is also thanks to their work that on Tuesday, March 26, we are convening a patient registry task force to begin discussing the potential implementation of the patient registry.
Chip Gardiner, who serves as the director of government affairs for the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers (Insulators Union), is a trusted advisor and friend of the Meso Foundation and our community. He and the Insulators Union have continued to ensure that our collective voices are heard on Capitol Hill.
The Pioneer Award
This award recognizes individuals who are pioneering scientific advances in mesothelioma research and treatment. Marc de Perrot, MD is this year’s recipient.
Dr. de Perrot – a thoracic surgeon and professor of surgery at the University of Toronto and head of the Toronto Mesothelioma Research Program – is a leader in driving innovation in pleural mesothelioma surgery. Specifically, he pioneered the SMART (Surgery for Mesothelioma After Radiation Therapy) clinical trial, partially funded by the Meso Foundation, in which radiation is applied to a diseased lung before removal, thus obtaining the benefits of radiation therapy, but avoiding its dangerous side-effects.
Klaus Brauch Volunteer of the Year Award
Presented on behalf of the entire mesothelioma community by the Meso Foundation’s Board of Directors, this award recognizes an engaged and exemplary individual who has worked to advance the Foundation’s mission through fundraising, advocacy, awareness and/or education. This year’s recipient is Meso Foundation’s community member, Erin Wojno Mosher.
In 2015, Erin became a Fundraise for Meso fundraiser when she organized the first ‘5K for Meso’ in her hometown of Marlton, New Jersey to honor her dad, Bruce, who is a mesothelioma warrior. After successfully raising over $42,000 at the first event, she and her family have made the run/walk an annual event and have since raised over $125,000. They are eagerly planning the 2019 Rockin’ for Meso event slated for Saturday, May 11.
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to eradicate mesothelioma and end this national tragedy. Its programs include the funding of promising and peer-reviewed research, education, support and advocacy. The organization strives to bring together thought-leaders in the field to identify the most direct path to a cure.
