Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has announced seven inaugural recipients of an award honoring Dr. Eddie Méndez, a physician-scientist at Fred Hutch and cherished colleague and mentor.
Méndez, originally from Puerto Rico, died last year at age 45 from cancer. Fred Hutch leaders created the award to recognize Méndez’s commitment to cancer research and to support early-career scientists from underrepresented minorities, including racial and ethnic groups (African Americans, Hispanics, Latinos, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders) as well as individuals with disabilities.
“The Méndez award is meant to showcase the incredible breadth of skills and knowledge from a vast talent pool that is often excluded or overlooked,” said Aiko Bethea, director of Diversity & Inclusion at Fred Hutch. “This annual award is a part of the Hutch’s commitment to developing a more diverse and inclusive workforce, not just here in our labs, but elsewhere.”
Nominations were solicited from universities and cancer research centers around the United States. This year’s recipients are postdoctoral researchers with a range of expertise, including in cancers caused by bacteria, social supports for African American cancer survivors, and genes that help cancer grow.
“We are more innovative when there is a range of perspectives at the table, and this is particularly important in science and medical research,” Bethea said. “The future therapies of the world that will benefit the most people will be inspired by the breadth of individuals working to develop them.”
An expert in head and neck cancer, Méndez was one of the first surgeons to embrace genomics and precision medicine — one example of his passion in developing therapies that saved lives and spared patients harmful side effects of cancer treatments.
