John Potter, M.D., Ph.D., head of the Cancer Prevention Research Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, has been awarded the Herbert J. Block Memorial Lectureship Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer. The award is presented annually by the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute of Ohio State University.

Potter, a member of the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, was recognized for his many outstanding contributions to cancer epidemiology, cancer prevention and the use of molecular methods in epidemiology.

Potter is recognized as a global leader in his field. He chaired an international panel that investigated the relationship between diet and cancer. The resulting report, published in 1997, has become a definitive source for scientists and policymakers on the feasibility of reducing cancer incidence through diet and other environmental factors. His recent research focuses on the interaction of genes and the environment on colorectal-cancer risk. Past Block award recipients include Drs. Richard Klausner, Judah Folkman and Bert Vogelstein.

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is an independent, nonprofit research institution dedicated to the development and advancement of biomedical technology to eliminate cancer and other potentially fatal diseases. Recognized internationally for its pioneering work in bone-marrow transplantation, the Center's four scientific divisions collaborate to form a unique environment for conducting basic and applied science. The Hutchinson Center is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in the Pacific Northwest.
For more information, visit the Center's Web site at http://www.fhcrc.org.

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