[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E920-E921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO DR. MONROE E. WALL AND DR. MANSUKH C. WANI

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2000

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, two men who have devoted 
their lives to finding safer, more efficacious treatments for one of 
the world's most deadly diseases are being honored tonight.
  Dr. Monroe E. Wall and Dr. Mansukh C. Wani of the Research Triangle 
Institute in North Carolina will receive the prestigious Charles F. 
Kettering Prize, an award given by the General Motors Cancer Research 
Foundation to the scientists who have made the most outstanding recent 
contribution to the diagnosis or treatment of cancer.
  Drs. Wall and Wani, who have collaborated for more than 38 years in 
their work, discovered two vital chemotherapeutic compounds, Taxol and 
Camptothecin, which serve as prototypes for a variety of new therapies 
that effectively treat cancer.
  The findings are rare discoveries. Taxol, which has been heralded as 
one of the most important anti-cancer compounds of the past thirty 
years, was one of only two compounds out of 100,000 which were approved 
for clinical use by the National Cancer Institute between 1960-1981. 
Because of the work by Drs. Wall and Wani, Taxol now serves as one of 
the most productive treatments for breast, ovarian, and lung cancer and 
even Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancer associated with AIDS.
  Drs. Wall and Wani have long been regarded as two of the premier 
members of their field. Dr. Wall, who earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. 
from Rutgers University, has been the recipient of two honorary 
doctorates and has been recognized for his work by the American Society 
of Pharmacognosy, the American Association of Cancer Research, and the 
American Chemical Society.
  Dr. Wani, a native of India, has also received awards on numerous 
occasions for his contributions, including being honored with the Bruce 
F. Cain Memorial Award from the American Association for Cancer 
Research, the City of Medicine Award, and the NC1 Award of Recognition. 
He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Bombay and 
Ph.D. in chemistry from Indiana University.
  Drs. Wall and Wani, aged 83 and 75 respectively, still work actively 
in the fight

[[Page E921]]

against cancer. According to Dr. Wani, they continue their work because 
``there is always a need to find something better and less toxic.'' 
They truly embody the spirit of inventiveness that is required for 
finding the cure for cancer. North Carolinians take great pride in the 
contributions of these outstanding scientists and in their richly 
deserved recognition.

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