BRIEFLY : Medicine: John Wayne Cancer Center Founder Will Receive Service Award

The John Wayne Cancer Institute will honor its founding medical director and president, Dr. Donald Morton, with the Special Service Award for his work in cancer research.

Morton will receive the award at the Santa Monica institute’s 10th anniversary ball April 9 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Morton’s recent accomplishments include the development of a vaccine for malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. The vaccine has extended the life expectancy of some patients from eight months to more than 23 months.

Morton received his medical training at the University of California at San Francisco. He held senior posts with the National Cancer Institute and, in 1971, established the division of surgical oncology at UCLA, which brought together an international team of cancer researchers and surgeons.

The John Wayne Cancer Center was founded in 1981. Because of Morton’s friendship with the late actor, it was located at UCLA. In 1991, the center moved to Saint John’s Hospital and Medical Center in Santa Monica, where it became the John Wayne Cancer Institute. It is regarded as one of the country’s foremost comprehensive cancer research and treatment centers.