Moffitt Cancer Center’s Dr. Said Sebti Receives National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award

Newswise — TAMPA, Fla. (March 1, 2016) – Said M. Sebti, Ph.D., chair of the Drug Discovery Department and co-leader of the Chemical Biology and Molecular Medicine Program at Moffitt Cancer Center, has been awarded an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The prestigious award, which provides grant funding over a seven year term, is given to well-established cancer researchers with proven track records to encourage long-term projects of unusual potential in cancer research. Dr. Sebti’s award totals $6,415,284 million.

Dr. Sebti will use the funds to further his research on novel drug therapies for KRas-mutated cancers. The proposed research is highly significant, is of high priority, and has long-term relevance to NCI’s mission. With mt KRas significantly contributing to human oncogenesis and patient tumor resistance to therapy, and no anticancer drugs targeting mt KRas yet available in clinic, the NCI identified targeting Ras as a high priority and has implemented a major initiative with the ultimate goal of discovering therapies that specifically target patients whose tumors harbor mt Ras. This Outstanding Investigator Award will engage in research that tackles this challenging problem on many fronts.

“I am extremely humbled by this great honor and award from the NCI that will allow us to generate significant advances in overcoming the challenges that mt KRas poses, ultimately leading to therapies that specifically target patients whose tumors harbor mt KRas,”explained Sebti.

Dr. Sebti has been at Moffitt since 1996 and has authored more than 290 journal articles on various areas of cancer research. Recently, he has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Inventors and was recognized by Nature publishing as one of top 20 translational researchers.

About Moffitt Cancer CenterMoffitt is dedicated to one lifesaving mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer. One of the three largest cancer centers in the United States based on patient volume, the Tampa-based facility is one of only 45 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt is the top-ranked cancer hospital in Florida and has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the “Best Hospitals” for cancer care since 1999. Moffitt devotes more than 2 million square feet to research and patient care. With more than 5,000 team members, Moffitt has an economic impact in the state of $1.9 billion. For more information, call 1-888-MOFFITT (1-888-663-3488), visit www.MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.