Ann Skalka Wins 2018 William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement

Anna Marie Skalka, PhD, 2018

Philadelphia (July 13, 2018) — Ann Skalka, PhD, has been named the 2018 recipient of the prestigious William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement. Awarded annually by Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society, this prize is given to a scientist who has made an outstanding contribution to scientific research and has demonstrated an ability to communicate the significance of this research to scientists in other disciplines.  

Skalka is senior advisor to the president, professor emerita, and the former W.W. Smith Chair in Cancer Research at Fox Chase Cancer Center. She served as senior vice president for basic science at the Center from 1987 until 2008.  

She is internationally recognized for her contributions to our understanding of the biochemical mechanisms by which retroviruses, including the AIDS virus, replicate and insert their genetic material into the host genome. She has published more than 240 scientific papers and scholarly reviews, edited several books, and organized and presented at national and international meetings. She is also author of the soon-to-be-released book, Discovering Retroviruses, and is coauthor of the widely acclaimed text, Principles of Virology

In addition to service on numerous scientific advisory boards, Skalka has been deeply involved in state, national, and international advisory groups concerned with the broader societal implications of scientific research, including the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research, which she chaired from 2008 to 2013. 

The William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement, awarded since 1950 by the Scientific Research Honor Society.
The William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement, awarded since 1950 by the Scientific Research Honor Society.
The Procter Prize is named for William Procter, the grandson and heir of one of the founders of the Procter and Gamble Company. Procter was elected to Sigma Xi in 1939 and endowed the award that bears his name in 1950. Past recipients include primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall and Jenny Glusker, DSc, professor emerita at Fox Chase Cancer Center, who earned the honor in 2014.

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

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