Recipient of Distinguished Professional Woman Award announced

HOUSTON - (Jan. 29, 2010)- The Committee on the Status of Women at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has selected Ellen R. Gritz, Ph.D., as this year's recipient of the Distinguished Professional Woman Award. In conjunction with Woman's History Month, Gritz, the Olla S. Stribling Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, will be presented the award during a reception from 5-7 p.m. March 25 at the Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building, 1825 Pressler St.

"Dr. Gritz is a highly accomplished, internationally respected academician, researcher, educator, administrator and mentor," John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of M. D. Anderson, wrote in his nomination letter. "During an outstanding career spanning more than three decades, she has conducted original research on cigarette smoking behavior and nicotine addiction, including prevention, cessation, pharmacologic mechanisms and the impact of smoking on women and high-risk groups, including ethnic minorities, youths, cancer patients, and persons living with HIV/AIDS. She also is widely known for her expertise in skin cancer prevention, the psychosocial aspects of genetic testing and counseling for hereditary cancers, and quality of life issues affecting cancer patients, survivors and caregivers."

Terri S. Armstrong, Ph.D., chair of the Committee on the Status of Women and associate professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing, said the award was established in 1984 to honor professional women who demonstrate a pioneering spirit, support women as both mentors and as positive role models and make significant contributions to overall health, quality of life and public service.

"The members of the CSW were in awe of the accomplishments of all the nominations for the Distinguished Professional Woman Award that we received this year," Armstrong said. "Dr. Gritz is a fantastic representative of what this award represents: a successful, professional woman who is dedicated to the advancement of women."

Recruited to M. D. Anderson from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1993 as the first chair of the Department of Behavioral Science in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, Gritz built a research enterprise that is now considered a model program, as acknowledged in National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant reviews.

Her innovative research has earned her membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas. As lead investigator on numerous studies, she has been awarded more than $11 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Skin Cancer Foundation. Dr.Gritz has received numerous awards. Most recently, in 2008, she was the recipient of both the Alma Dea Morani, M.D. Renaissance Woman Award and the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Cancer Special Interest Group's Outstanding Biobehavioral Oncology Award.

Gritz, an established leader in cancer prevention and research, is committed to mentoring young scientists, especially women entering biomedical fields, Mendelsohn said. She led the original M. D. Anderson task force to increase the number of women faculty in leadership positions and twice chaired the Women Faculty and Administrators Organization. At M. D. Anderson, she has been a member of the Women Faculty Salary Equity Study, the Committee on Women Faculty Initiatives and the Promotion and Tenure Committee, among other committees.

She established the Faculty Health Committee at M. D. Anderson and continues to chair the committee as it seeks to reduce work-related stress and encourage life balance. Gritz was editor and co-author of the recently published book "Faculty Health in Academic Medicine: Scientists, Physicians, and the Pressures of Success."

Along with Gritz, three employees who represent faculty, classified and administrative and professional staff at the UT Health Science Center at Houston will receive the President's Award for Mentoring Women. The winners of those awards will be announced at the reception.

For more information, visit www.uth.tmc.edu/csw/.

Meredith Raine
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