2022 Mark R. Clements Award goes to Jan Meyer, George Riddle and Dr. Mitesh Borad at 9th Annual Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation Conference

Award winners are honored for making significant contributions towards finding a cure for cholangiocarcinoma through advocacy, vision, innovation, collaboration.

The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation announced its 2022 Mark R. Clements Award honorees at its annual conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The award winners were honored for making significant contributions in supporting patients and rendering cholangiocarcinoma a treatable disease. The Foundation is pleased to award its highest honor to Janice Meyer for Excellence in Community Impact, George Riddle for Excellence in Volunteerism, and Dr. Mitesh Borad for Vision, Innovation and Collaboration.

“Janice, George and Mitesh demonstrate an unwavering commitment to CCA patients. We are so grateful to them and the countless hours they have selflessly given. It is my honor and a real pleasure to present the 2022 Mark R. Clements Award to these outstanding individuals whose contributions to the Foundation and the cholangiocarcinoma field are almost too numerous to list. This award is special because it is the highest honor given by the foundation each year. Congratulations to Jan Meyer, George Riddle and Mitesh Borad, ” said Stacie Lindsey, Foundation CEO and Founder.
Janice Meyer of Wilmington, DE., is a survivor of cholangiocarcinoma, a rare but lethal bile duct cancer. Jan and her husband, Dean Meyer, have been active volunteers, fundraisers and donors to the Foundation since her diagnosis in 2018. Together, Dean and Janice have done a great deal to raise awareness for the disease, including founding and hosting the highly successful Quack Out Cholangio 5k to Crush Bile Duct Cancer, which has raised more than $91,000 for cholangiocarcinoma research.
Since 2019, they have funded the Margaret M. Brown Research Fellowship in honor of Jan’s mother who passed from cholangiocarcinoma. Dean joined the Board of the Foundation in 2021.

“Jan is tenacious. She is a very bright individual who is very respectful, knowledgeable and she is her own best advocate. It’s because of Jan’s diligence and tenacity that ultimately she is conquering cholangiocarcinoma,” said said Dr. David Maleh. “Not only has Jan gone through being diagnosed and treated and beating cholangiocarcnoma, she has really gone out of her way to help others do the same… I can’t imagine a more deserving person for this award,” said Dr. David Maleh.

George Riddle loves technology, engineering, and research. He and his late wife, Elinor, have three children. He was a former caregiver to his beautiful wife Elinor who passed away of cholangiocarcinoma in 2019. George became a mentor in the CholangioConnect program shortly after attending the 2019 Annual Conference. He is extremely adept at equipping patients and families with research to discuss with their medical teams. George also serves as a Research Advocate and has an incredible understanding of clinical trials. He has attended regional symposiums and has written for the Cholangio..what? Blog. His love of research now benefits cholangiocarcinoma patients, as he is eager to share what he has learned and what he continues to discover.

“George is such an asset to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, specifically to the CholangioConnect program. He helps so many patients and caregivers in what he does. He is a brilliant mind and he can take the science and make it something that the patients understand,” said Patricia Maxin. “He walks the journey with them and has such patience and a presence. Every person who is fortunate to have George help them in this regard feels like they have an advocate in every appointment.”

Dr. Mitesh Borad is an oncologist who specializes in cholangiocarcinoma. He currently serves as the chair of the International Cholangiocarcinoma Research Network and is also a member of the Scientific & Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Borad is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Director of Phase I Drug Development at Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona. Before joining Mayo Clinic, he spent three years at the Translational Genomics Research Institute as a Genomics Medicine Scholar. He has been serving on the NCI Hepatobiliary Task Force since 2011. His research interests focus on exploring various molecular and immunological subtypes and discovering novel targeted therapies for providing precision medicine for hepatobiliary and pancreatic cancer patients.

“Mitesh’s greatest quality is that he is a big picture thinker. He is someone who wants to really aim for the fences when it comes to changing what we have as options for our patients. He does that by continuing to be very thoughtful about what is realistic and how we can actually make real change,” said Dr. Nilo Azad. Mitesh has done so much to make sure that the mission of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation and the International Cholangiocarcinoma Research Network has always had a large impact.”

The Mark R. Clements Award for Vision, Innovation, and Collaboration is the highest honor awarded by the Foundation each year. As a cholangiocarcinoma patient himself, Mark Clements was truly the inspiration and driving force around the creation of this Foundation. Before Mark passed away, his wish was to create something that could help others have the kind of support he did. These awards in his namesake reflect the umbrella of hope that covers this community.

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Janice Meyer George Riddle Mitesh Borad