Karen H. Vousden – Candidate for the Nominating Committee of AACR

The voting for the 2025 AACR Annual Election is now open, where members will vote for the next President-Elect, Treasurer, five Board Members, and four members of the Nominating Committee.

This year, Karen H. Vousden, PhD, FAACR is a candidate for the Nominating Committee of AACR.

Karen H. Vousden is currently the Principal Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London, United Kingdom.

Previously, Dr. Vousden served as Chief Scientist at the CRUK Glasgow Cancer Centre from 2016 to 2022, and as the Lead of the center from 2014 to 2016.

She was the Director of the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute from 2002 to 2016.

Prior to that, Dr. Vousden held various leadership roles at the National Cancer Institute, including Chief of the Regulation of Cell Growth Laboratory (1999-2002), Interim Director (1998-1999), Laboratory Director of Molecular Virology and Carcinogenesis (1996-1998), and Section Head of Molecular Carcinogenesis (1995-1996).

Earlier in her career, Dr. Vousden worked as an Associate Member and Honorary Senior Lecturer (1992-1995), Assistant Member (1987-1992), and Head of the Human Papillomavirus Group (1987-1995) at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.

Dr. Karen H. Vousden’s research interests focus on molecular biology and genetics, with a particular emphasis on the tumor suppressor protein p53.

She investigates the signals that induce p53 and the various functions it performs to prevent cancer progression.

A key area of her work includes studying TIGAR, a protein that interacts with p53, and its role in regulating cancer metabolism.

Dr. Vousden is deeply involved in translational research aimed at finding ways to reactivate p53, with the ultimate goal of developing novel cancer therapies that harness the protein’s tumor-suppressing functions.

Dr. Karen H. Vousden has been highly active in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), contributing to numerous committees and roles over the years.

She served as a member of the Fellows of the AACR Academy Steering Committee from 2018 to 2021 and has been an advisory editor for the AACR journal Cancer Research since 2018.

Dr. Vousden was elected as a fellow of the AACR Academy in 2017, recognizing her outstanding contributions to cancer research.

Her leadership roles also include serving on the Nominating Committee (2017-2019), the AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Committee (2015-2016, 2021-2023), and the Board of Directors (2012-2015).

She has been involved in the Annual Meeting Program Committee, both as co-chair (2011-2012) and as a member (2010-2011), and has contributed to the Council of Scientific Advisors (2006-2013), including a role on the steering committee (2011-2013).

Dr. Vousden has also served as a scientific editor for Cancer Discovery since 2011 and has been an editorial board member for Molecular Cancer Research since 2002.

Her extensive service to AACR extends to several other committees, including the Pediatric Cancer Working Group Steering Committee, the Global Affairs Committee, and the Kirk A. Landon-AACR Prize for Basic Cancer Research Committee.

Education

Dr. Karen H. Vousden completed her PhD in Genetics at the University of London in 1982, following a BSc in Genetics and Microbiology from the same institution in 1978.

She pursued postdoctoral training as a visiting fellow at the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, from 1985 to 1987.

Prior to that, Dr. Vousden was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Institute of Cancer Research in London from 1981 to 1985.

Honors and Awards

– Recipient, Sir Hans Krebs Medal, FEBS (2023)
– Honoree, the Ashley Dunn Oration, Australia (2023)
– Recipient, Pezcoller-Marina Larcher Fogazzaro-EACR Women in Cancer Research Award (2021)
– Recipient, Sir David Cooksey Prize in Translation (2020)
– Honoree, Annual Zubrod Memorial Distinguished Guest Lecturer (2020)
– Recipient, Clifford Prize for Cancer Research, Australia (2019)
– Recipient, Sergio Lombroso Award, Weizmann Institute, Israel (2019)
– President, BACR (2019)
– Honorary Fellow, Association of Cancer Physicians (UK) (2019)

Interviews with Karen H. Vousden

81st Symposium – Targeting Cancer – Karen Vousden – CSHL Leading Strand (6th June, 2016)

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