In 1962, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital opened its doors amid an emotionally charged debate regarding how to treat childhood cancer. At that time, few children with the most common form of childhood cancer survived, and many physicians believed treatment was futile. St. Jude physicians and researchers took a radically different approach, and these efforts proved pivotal in changing the way the world treats childhood cancer. St. Jude is recognized for playing a significant role in improving overall survival rates for childhood cancer, which have increased from 20 percent in 1962 to 80 percent today.
In recognition of this impact over the past 50 years, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam declared February “St. Jude Month” in the state of Tennessee. Founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, the hospital opened February 4, 1962.
St. Jude Recognitions
1995
Charles Sherr, M.D., Ph.D., of St. Jude Tumor Cell Biology, is elected into the National Academy of Sciences.
1996
Peter C. Doherty, Ph.D., then chair of the St. Jude Department of Immunology, wins the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work that led to a better understanding of the immune response.
2006
St. Jude is named the No. 1 “Best Place to Work in Academia” by The Scientist magazine.
2007
St. Jude is designated one of six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institutes of Health.
2008
St. Jude is designated as a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center, making it the first and only cancer center solely focused on pediatric cancer to receive this distinction.
2009
Parents magazine names St. Jude as the No. 1 pediatric cancer care hospital in the country, based on the magazine’s survey of more than 100 children’s hospitals.
2009
St. Jude scientists who represent the interdisciplinary team studying ALL receive the Team Science Award from the American Association for Cancer Research.
2010
Nurses and staff in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Jude are recognized in 2009 and 2010 by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses with the Beacon Award for Critical Care Excellence.
2010
St. Jude is named the nation’s top children’s cancer hospital, according to the 2010-11 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings published by U.S. News & World Report.
2012
In 2011 and 2012, St. Jude is named one of the country’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” by FORTUNE magazine.
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