For Immediate Release
January 5, 2009

BUFFALO, NY – The American Cancer Society's 2009 Luther L. Terry Award for Outstanding Research Contribution will be presented to K. Michael Cummings, PhD, Chair of the Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) during a special ceremony at the 14th World Conference on Tobacco Health, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, March 11, 2009.
 
The international award recognizes Dr. Cummings’ distinct contributions to tobacco science research which have significantly impacted tobacco control policy and advocacy. The ACS announcement said, “Dr. Cummings is a dedicated researcher with the ability to translate sound science into terms that decision makers can understand and turn into action.”
 
The awards are named for the late United States Surgeon General Luther L. Terry, MD, who led the landmark 1964 Surgeon General’s Report connecting tobacco use to lung cancer and other illnesses. The awards, which recognize worldwide achievement in the field of tobacco control, also include Distinguished Career, Exemplary Leadership by a Government Ministry, Outstanding Individual Leadership, Outstanding Organization and Outstanding Community Service.
 
“As a pioneer in the field of tobacco control, Dr. Cummings has led the tobacco control movement, shaped its polices and created strategies now used throughout the United States and the world,” said Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, President & CEO, Roswell Park.
 
Dr. Cummings’ research contributed to the scientific basis for the policies and programs recommended in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) adopted in 2003. The FCTC was the first international health treaty, committing nations to progress in implementing policies and legislation to curb tobacco use. Groundbreaking work in the 1980s by Dr. Cummings and colleagues evaluated the effects of community-based smoking-control interventions on cessation in the adult smoker with the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT).
 
In the 1990s, Dr. Cummings continued his national leadership role with efforts to develop and implement the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST), the largest government-funded demonstration project to help states develop effective strategies to reduce smoking. In 2004, Dr. Cummings was awarded one of seven national awards from the National Cancer Institute, a five-year, $8.8 million grant to establish a Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC). These efforts are providing an evidence base for national tobacco-control policies in the United States and in countries around the globe, enabling government leaders to make tobacco-control decisions using valid scientific information.
 
Dr. Cummings said, “I am humbled and honored by this recognition, but also recognize that tobacco control is a team game. There are many people who are deserving of recognition in this field. That said, I’ll be happy when we have a day when we no longer have a need to be giving out awards for tobacco control. My goal is to make tobacco history and find some other cause to research.”
 
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center. The Institute was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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