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An Appreciation

J. Michael Bishop, MD

JAMA. 2005;294:1418-1419.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

I learned of my Lasker Award from a hand-written note, left on my desk one spring morning in 1982. A member of the awards jury had called from New York City in my absence, with clandestine news. My colleague Harold Varmus and I would share the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award with 3 other scientists for fundamental contributions to what was then known as the "war on cancer."

My initial reaction was a sense of authentication. There had been considerable skepticism about the significance of the work that we were overseeing. Had we indeed uncovered a universal root of cancer? Had the case been overstated, or worse yet, had we been fooled by some treachery in our technology? The Lasker imprimatur was likely to put any remaining doubt to rest. It certainly emboldened me in the months and years to come.

To authenticate and embolden may . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Author Affiliation: Chancellor, Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Distinguished Professor, University of California, San Francisco.