Camidge recognized for work on lung cancer

D. Ross Camidge

D. Ross Camidge, an associate professor of medicine and director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical Program in the CU School of Medicine, recently was honored with the 2012 Addario Lectureship Award, which recognizes luminaries who are in the quest to eradicate lung cancer. Camidge will receive his award in July at the 13th International Lung Cancer Congress in California.

Camidge earned his medical degree from Oxford University and Ph.D. in molecular biology from Cambridge University. He then trained in both medical oncology and clinical pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh. In November 2005 he was recruited from the United Kingdom as visiting faculty at the University of Colorado, becoming full-time faculty in October 2007.

His clinical research interests include optimizing the development of new agents through personalized medicine and a strong desire to increase the number of lung cancer patients getting access to the newest drugs within clinical trials. By spotting signs of any drug's clinical activity or toxicity early on in a particular patient group, one goal is to accelerate the drug's development as safely and efficiently as possible within the appropriate patient/molecular subtype population. In addition, by molecularly profiling patients, novel clinical patterns in terms of the natural history of different molecular subtypes of the disease, and their response to specific therapies can be identified that might otherwise be missed when only looking at the broader lung cancer population.

Camidge understands that lung cancer is not one disease and when it comes to treatment, he believes "one size doesn't fit all." He is a relentless advocate of molecular testing, redefining the standard of care for lung cancer, and aligning lung cancer patients with targeted treatment regimens.

Bonnie J. Addario, founder and eight-year survivor says, "I have admired Ross since the moment we met. I couldn't be more proud to see someone so deserving of this award. I am humbled when I hear our patients speak of the way Ross takes care of them, the extra miles he goes to treat each individual patient in his care, and their families. I am even more excited about his desire to bring lung cancer to an end through untiring research and the search for the cure."

In 2008, Paul A Bunn, Jr.,principal investigator and director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center received the award.