LMP professor Stephen Hecht, PhD, joined his Medical School colleagues Dorothy Hatsukami, PhD, Sharon Murphy, PhD, and Anne Joseph, MD, MPH, as newly elected members in the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA) Academy for Excellence in Team Science.

The team was honored at a reception on December 4 in Memorial Hall, McNamara Alumni Center.  Their portraits were added to the permanent display honoring the members of the Academy on the second floor of Moos Tower.

OACA states that team science is imperative for addressing intractable problems in biomedical and clinical research. The award has been established to acknowledge the valuable and significant contributions made by an exemplar interdisciplinary team conducting biomedical or health care research to address significant health challenges.

Hecht is the Wallin Land Grant Professor of Cancer Prevention.  He is nationally and internationally renowned for identifying carcinogens in tobacco smoke including second-hand smoke. He and his research team are currently developing a biomarkers panel that will enable early detection of tobacco-smoking cancer risk from blood and urine samples.

In an LMP Legends in Pathology video, Hecht said:  “I love working with the people in our group and in our program.  They’re so dedicated. It so much fun to work with them and hear their ideas and discuss their ideas and to be continually optimistic about what we can do in the future to apply for the grants and get them funded.  Working together with this team has been very, very satisfying. I really love it. That’s why I keep going.”