Elwood V. Jensen, Ph.D. discusses “Discovery of the Estrogen Receptor,” Monday, Sept. 27

	Print-quality photo: Elwood V. Jensen, Ph.D. click to download Related release: Elwood Jensen, University of Chicago professor emeritus, receives coveted Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research Additional image: Tamoxifen bound to the estrogen receptor From the lab of Geoffrey Greene, BMICR

The Division of the Biological Sciences & the Ben May Institute for Cancer Research are pleased to present a lecture with Elwood V. Jensen, Ph.D., Charles Huggins Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, entitled “Discovery of the Estrogen Receptor.”

Jensen was most recently honored with the 2004 Lasker Award, for his pioneering research on how steroid hormones, such as estrogen, exert their influence. His discoveries explained how these hormones work, which has led to the development of drugs that can enhance or inhibit the process.

This work “transformed the treatment of breast cancer patients,” notes the Lasker Foundation, “and saves or prolongs more than a 100,000 lives annually.”

Jensen, known for concluding his lectures in verse, neatly summed up what his extraordinary series of discoveries might mean to a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer:

“A lady with growth neoplastic
Thought surgical ablation too drastic.
She preferred that her ill
Could be cured with a pill,
Which today is no longer fantastic.”

The lecture will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 27, 2004 in Room 115 of the Biological Sciences Learning Center, 924 E. 57th St.

A reception for Dr. Jensen will follow immediately after the seminar in the BSLC Lobby