[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S11652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    TRIBUTE TO DR. MARTIN D. ABELOFF

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I wish to commemorate the life of 
Dr. Martin Abeloff, a leader in Maryland's health care community who 
passed away last Thursday, September 14, 2007. Our State and our Nation 
have lost a phenomenally gifted doctor who was also a pioneer in the 
fight against cancer. Tragically, his life was taken by the disease he 
dedicated his career to fighting.
  Dr. Martin Abeloff was an internationally recognized oncologist who 
for 15 years led the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, one of 
America's premier cancer research and treatment centers.
  During his tenure as cancer center director, Dr. Abeloff doubled the 
size of the center's facility, helped increase research funding 
sixfold, and expanded facilities to nearly 1 million square feet of 
treatment and research space. Under his leadership, some of the most 
salient findings in cancer genetics and cancer cell biology were 
realized and have begun to be translated into patient care.
  Foremost a humanitarian, Dr. Abeloff was an activist who worked 
diligently to get clinical trials legislation passed in Maryland to 
ensure that cancer patients have access to state-of-the-art therapies. 
A staunch advocate for tobacco control, he led the Maryland Cigarette 
Restitution Fund initiatives at Johns Hopkins supporting research and 
cancer prevention outreach to benefit poor and underserved communities 
burdened by disproportionately high cancer death rates.
  A trusted authority and adviser, Abeloff had served as president of 
the American Society of Clinical Oncology, ASCO, chairman of the FDA 
Oncology Drug Advisory Committee, and he had been a member of the 
National Cancer Institute Executive Committee.
  He is remembered by his colleagues and friends across the globe for 
his characteristic humility, wry sense of humor, extraordinary devotion 
to his patients and students, and the collaborative spirit he nurtured 
in his long tenure at Johns Hopkins, where he spent most of his career.
  Dr. Edward Miller, the CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine, described 
Abeloff as an ``iconic Hopkins physician, scientist, educator, leader, 
and good citizen rolled into one.''
  I wish to express my condolences to Dr. Abeloff's family and to the 
Johns Hopkins community, which will also miss him greatly. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in remembering him today.

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