FILE - In this April 25, 2013, file photo, Dr. Janet Rowley, left, of the University of Chicago, receives a Japan Prize award for the field of "Healthcare and Medical Technology" from Taro Nakayama, chairman of the Board of Councilors of the Japan Prize Foundation, during the award ceremony of the 28th Japan Prize in Tokyo. Rowley, a pioneer in cancer genetics research, died Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013, of ovarian cancer complications at her home near the University of Chicago, the university said in a statement Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013. She was 88. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
December 18, 2013 - 7:39 AM
CHICAGO - Dr. Janet Rowley, a pioneer in cancer genetics research, has died at age 88.
The University of Chicago, where Rowley obtained her medical degree and spent most of her career, says in a statement she died Tuesday of ovarian cancer complications at her home near the university.
Rowley did landmark research with leukemia in the 1970s, linking cancer with genetic abnormalities — work that led to targeted drug treatment for leukemia. She identified a genetic process called translocation, now widely accepted. By 1990, more than 70 translocations had been identified in various cancers, according to her biography on the National Library of Medicine's website.
She is a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honour and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013