Published in the September 30, 2015 edition

DR. JOHN ERBAN

DR. JOHN ERBAN

NEWTON — Dr. John K. Erban of Wakefield, internationally renowned expert in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, is being honored this year with Silent Spring Institute’s Rachel Carson Advocacy Award for contributions to breast cancer prevention. The award will be presented to him at the institute’s Annual Gala celebration on Oct. 20 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge.
Dr. Erban, who is the clinical director of Tufts Cancer Center, has served on Silent Spring Institute’s board of directors for nearly 20 years — a testament to his unwavering commitment to breast cancer prevention through environmental health research. “I am honored to be receiving this award. For a health care provider, there can be no greater satisfaction than working to prevent illness in the first place,” says Erban. “Silent Spring Institute honors Rachel Carson’s memory with their groundbreaking research on how our choices may influence the environment and in turn our health.”
Social worker Enid Shapiro of Brookline, who has been a long-time advocate for prevention research since her diagnosis with cancer, will also be honored with this year’s Rachel Carson Advocacy Award.
The dinner program will feature a keynote address by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee whose book, “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer,” was recently turned into a documentary series produced by Ken Burns that aired on PBS in March 2015.
Silent Spring’s executive director and senior scientist Julia Brody will give an update on the organization’s innovative research, specifically its development of new ultra-fast chemical screening technologies to speed up the identification of toxic chemicals in our everyday environment.
Founded in 1994 and located in Newton, Silent Spring Institute (silentspring.org) is the leading scientific research organization dedicated to understanding the link between chemicals in our everyday environments and women’s health, especially breast cancer. Silent Spring’s groundbreaking studies produce new knowledge about the health risks associated with toxic chemicals where we live and work—an area of study largely ignored in breast cancer research. The institute is also developing new tools and methods to help reduce people’s everyday exposure to toxic chemicals.