A pioneer in cancer research for over 30 years, Dr. Scott Ness’ work has significantly expanded our understanding of ACC and provided crucial insight into the biological mechanisms that drive the disease.
Dr. Ness is Professor Emeritus at The University of New Mexico where he served as Professor in Cancer Genomics from 1998 until his retirement in 2024. He is also the founder of the Ness Laboratory at UNM which has been responsible for groundbreaking research on cancer cell biology with a focus on MYB.
A five-time ACCRF grantee beginning in 2011, Dr. Ness identified the role of genomic alterations in the MYBL1 gene in ACC. This finding was built off his seminal publications characterizing the structure and function of the MYB proto-oncogene in leukemia. Dr. Ness proceeded to investigate MYB and MYBL1 expression and activities specifically in ACC tumors, a watershed in our understanding of the disease and its potential treatments.
Dr. Ness has also been instrumental in building partnerships among ACC researchers and facilitating collaboration within the field. In 2013 he hosted a research conference focused on MYB, allowing scientists to share and discuss their findings about this key driver of ACC. And through his collaborations with scientists across multiple institutions he showed that alterations in MYB or MYBL1 define many forms of ACC, regardless of the primary tumor’s original location, reaffirming that the majority of ACC patients may benefit from drugs designed to target MYB.
These scientific discoveries continue to be essential to the ongoing ACC research landscape and have been invaluable in our search for new treatments and a cure. On behalf of the ACC research and patient communities, we extend our sincerest gratitude to Dr. Ness for his breakthrough efforts in the field of cancer research that have made so much of our ongoing work possible.