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Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD, Elected Fellow of the AACR Academy Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD, Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and Immunology, inaugural Scientific Director of the Immunotherapy Platform, and Director of Scientific Programs for the James P. Allison Institute at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has been elected to the 2024 class of Fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy in recognition of her work to establish and advance immune checkpoint therapies as effective treatments for patients with a variety of cancers.FigurePadmanee Sharma, MD, PhD: Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD“Dr. Sharma is being honored for her significant contributions to advancing cancer immunotherapy, including some of the earliest trials that shaped our current clinical practice,” said Peter WT Pisters, MD, President of MD Anderson. “Her innovative work continues to advance our understanding of immunobiology, and we are proud of her important contributions to the field.” Ahmad Samer Al-Homsi, MD, MBA, Named System Chief of Blood & Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy Ahmad Samer Al-Homsi, MD, MBA, an internationally known leader in hematology, has been appointed as System Chief of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute. He will also serve as Director of Faculty and Academic Affairs in Medical Oncology at the Cancer Institute.Ahmad Samer Al-Homsi, MD, MBA: Ahmad Samer Al-Homsi, MD, MBAIn his new position, Al-Homsi's clinical responsibilities include treating people with blood cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, and benign bone marrow failure disorders with a focus on blood and marrow transplant and cellular therapy. As System Chief, he will oversee the growth of the institute's Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and guide the transfer of the inpatient units and facilities from North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, the home of the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital. Robert A. Winn, MD, Receives Allen Lichter Visionary Leader Award Robert A. Winn, MD, was honored with the Allen Lichter Visionary Leader Award at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. This honor was first awarded in 2017 and created in honor of Allen. S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, to recognize ASCO members who have transformed the oncology field or significantly advanced the mission of ASCO, Conquer Cancer, or CancerLinQ, LLC, through their leadership, vision, and ability to inspire.Robert A. Winn, MD: Robert A. Winn, MDWinn is Director of the VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. In this role, he oversees a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center that provides advanced cancer care, conducts groundbreaking research to discover new cancer therapies, offers high-quality education and training, and engages with the community to make advancements in cancer treatment and prevention equally available to all. Winn is also President of the Association of American Cancer Institutes; Chair of the National Cancer Policy Forum of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research Academy; and a member of the Board of Directors for the American Cancer Society and LUNGevity Foundation. Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, FASCO, Receives Cancer Prevention Award Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, FASCO, received the ASCO-American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Award at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, which recognizes significant contributions to cancer prevention, research, or practice.Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, FASCO: Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, FASCOBhatia is the White Endowed Professor in Pediatric Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She previously served as Founding Chair of the Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope from 2006 to 2014 and joined UAB in 2015 to establish the Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship. With continuous funding from the NCI and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since 2000, she is an internationally renowned leader in cancer outcomes and survivorship. She serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Senior Editor for Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. She is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians, as well as a past ASCO Board member. William Dale, MD, PhD, FASCO, Honored With B.J. Kennedy Geriatric Oncology Award ASCO honored William Dale, MD, PhD, FASCO, as the recipient of the 2024 ASCO B.J. Kennedy Geriatric Oncology Award. This award and lectureship were created in the name of B.J. Kennedy, MD, a Past President of ASCO, in honor of his outstanding contributions to the research, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer in the elderly.William Dale, MD, PhD, FASCO: William Dale, MD, PhD, FASCODale is an internationally recognized leader in cancer and aging, supportive care medicine, cancer survivorship, and medical decision-making. As an internist, geriatrician, and supportive care medicine physician, Dale has devoted his career to improving and optimizing the care for older adults with cancer and other diseases. Dale is the George Tsai Family Chair in Geriatric Oncology in Honor of Arti Hurria, MD, and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Supportive Care Medicine at City of Hope. In addition to leading the publication of the latest ASCO guideline for the care of older adults with cancer, Dale is co-lead of the Cancer & Aging Research Group. Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, FASCO, Receives David Karnofsky Memorial Award At the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, FASCO, was honored as the recipient of the David Karnofsky Memorial Award. This prestigious recognition is a testament to her unparalleled dedication and contributions to the field of oncology and cancer research.Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, FASCO: Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, FASCOSiu is a senior medical oncologist, Director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program, Co-Director of the Bras and Family Drug Development Program, clinical lead for the Tumor Immunotherapy Program, BMO Chair in Precision Genomics at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto in Canada. Siu's major research focus is new anticancer drug development, particularly with respect to Phase I trials and head and neck malignancies. Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, Receives Excellence in Equity Award Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 ASCO Excellence in Equity Award endowed by the American Cancer Society. Created in 2021, this award recognizes ASCO members who have made significant and measurable contributions toward increasing equity, diversity, and inclusion within the field of oncology.Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO: Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCOPierce is Professor of Radiation Oncology and Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs at the University of Michigan. She is a cancer physician whose research is based on the clinical needs of patients with breast cancer. Much of her work has focused on combining radiosensitizing drugs and radiotherapy to overcome radioresistance, the effects of radiotherapy in women with germline mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes, and the development of radiation treatment planning techniques that optimize cardiac sparing. She serves as Director of the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium, which seeks to improve the quality and equitable delivery of radiation to patients with cancer throughout the state of Michigan and beyond. She is a Past President of ASCO and currently Chair of the ASCO Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. Philip Kantoff, MD, Awarded Excellence in Teaching Award ASCO has announced Philip Kantoff, MD, as recipient of the 2024 ASCO Excellence in Teaching Award, acknowledging his dedication and contributions to the field of global oncology. He is the CEO and co-founder of Convergent Therapeutics and spent 6 years as Chair of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He directed a department of approximately 500 physicians and physician-scientists caring for patients with cancer and developing improved testing and cancer therapies. He is the Emeritus Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Chair in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.Philip Kantoff, MD: Philip Kantoff, MDAt Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Kantoff was the Chief of the Solid Tumor Oncology Division and served as Director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology. In those positions, he created robust programs of clinical care and research, as well as laboratory research. During this time, he served as a clinical researcher and principal investigator in significant trials devoted to the development of new therapeutic targets for patients with advanced prostate cancer and helped set broad clinical research priorities. He has mentored dozens of physician-scientists, scientists, fellows, and junior faculty during his career. Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FASCO, Received Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FASCO, received the 2024 ASCO Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award that acknowledges her dedication and contributions to the field of global oncology. She is a surgical oncologist with a practice dedicated to breast cancer management. She currently oversees the Breast Program for the Weill Cornell Medicine-NewYork Presbyterian Hospital Network, serving its Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn sites. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, headquartered at Weill Cornell Medicine.Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FASCO: Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FASCONewman's primary research focuses on race/ethnicity-related variation in breast cancer risk and outcome, as well as advanced breast surgical techniques. She maintains a very active community service record and serves as Chief National Medical Advisor for the Sisters Network, Inc., a national African-American breast cancer survivors support organization. She oversees an international breast cancer research and training program involving partners in Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, and the Caribbean. ASCO Congratulates 2024 Humanitarian Award Recipients The 2024 Humanitarian Award recognizes oncologists who personify the ASCO mission and values by going above and beyond the call of duty in providing outstanding patient care through innovative means or exceptional service or leadership in the U.S. or abroad. The 2024 recipients are Satish Gopal, MD, MPH, and Miriam Mutebi, MD, MSc, FACS.Satish Gopal, MD, MPH: Satish Gopal, MD, MPHMiriam Mutebi, MD, MSc, FACS: Miriam Mutebi, MD, MSc, FACSGopal is Director of the Center for Global Health at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In this role, he oversees the development of initiatives and collaborations with NCI and National Institutes of Health (NIH) partners, NCI-designated cancer centers, and other governmental and non-governmental organizations to support cancer research, promote science-based cancer control, and build research capacity in low- and middle-income countries. As an extramural physician-scientist, Gopal's NIH-funded research program focused on epidemiologic, clinical, and translational studies of lymphoma and HIV-associated malignancies in Africa. He also oversaw a multidisciplinary cancer research portfolio that sought to address the common cancers in the region, including cervical, breast, and esophageal cancer. Mutebi is a consultant breast surgical oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. She is also a clinical epidemiologist and health systems researcher with a focus on understanding barriers to access for women with cancers in Sub-Saharan Africa and designing interventions to mitigate those barriers. She is President of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer, Immediate Past President of the Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology, and a Board of Director for the Union for International Cancer Control. Mutebi is also the Co-Founder of the Pan African Women's Association of Surgeons, which was developed to mentor and provide transformative leadership for women in surgery to improve surgical care and pathology on the continent and is part of the Kenya Association of Women Surgeons. She is the Co-Chair of the National Cancer Taskforce in Kenya, Chair of the Commonwealth Taskforce for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, and a commissioner with five Lancet commissions, including Women, Power and Cancer, Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Breast Cancer. Jill Feldman Receives ASCO Patient Advocate Award The ASCO Patient Advocate Award recognizes an individual involved in patient advocacy activities that impact public awareness about cancer, its causes, cures, treatment, or activities that result in additional support legislatively or fiscally for cancer research, treatment, prevention, or care. Jill Feldman is a lung cancer patient and passionate advocate with a personal connection to the cause. With a family history of the disease, she became involved in lung cancer advocacy in its infancy in 2001. In 2009, at age 39 with four small children, Feldman herself was diagnosed with EGFR-positive lung cancer. Feldman's advocacy focuses on patient-centered research and care, notably serving as past Chair of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's Patient Advisory Board, a member of the programmatic panel for the U.S. Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program, a member of the ECOG-ACRIN Research Group's Patient Advocate Committee and Thoracic Committee, and patient advocate on the National Lung Cancer Round Table Steering Committee. She co-founded the EGFR Resisters, a community committed to accelerating research and providing support and best practices for patients and families.Jill Feldman: Jill FeldmanRichard Gorlick, MD, Honored with Pediatric Oncology Award Richard Gorlick, MD, has received the Pediatric Oncology Award at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. The award recognizes the career and achievements of an individual who has contributed outstanding scientific work—laboratory, clinical, or epidemiologic—of major importance to the pediatric oncology field.Richard Gorlick, MD: Richard Gorlick, MDGorlick is Division Head and Department Chair of Pediatrics at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also holds the H. Grant Taylor, MD, W.W. Sutow, MD, and Margaret P. Sullivan, MD, Distinguished Chair in Pediatrics, and serves as Department Chair Ad Interim of Sarcoma Medical Oncology at MD Anderson. He is Director of the Pediatric Sarcoma Research Laboratory, which focuses on advancing targeted therapies for childhood cancers and understanding the development and progression of osteosarcoma. Jennifer A. Pietenpol, PhD, Receives Science of Oncology Award Jennifer A. Pietenpol, PhD, received the 2024 ASCO Science of Oncology Award. She is Professor of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University and a highly distinguished leader in scientific research known for her many contributions to the cancer field, including transformative work on triple-negative breast cancer and the p53 family signaling network. Integrating expertise in tumor suppressor genes and molecular genetics with bioinformatic analyses of high-dimensional genomic datasets, she and her team subtyped difficult-to-treat triple-negative breast cancer. Her lab's research has impacted many areas of science and medicine and she has brought her lab's discoveries to clinical impact for patients with breast cancer.Jennifer A. Pietenpol, PhD: Jennifer A. Pietenpol, PhDPietenpol is Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President for Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She serves as a Chief Scientific Advisor for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and an active participant in various advisory boards, including those of NCI comprehensive cancer centers. Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, Receives Walther Cancer Foundation Supportive Oncology Award ASCO recognized Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) as a recipient of the Walther Cancer Foundation Supportive Oncology Award, noting her as a distinguished leader in palliative and supportive oncology through the prevention, assessment, and management of cancer- and treatment-related suffering.Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPM: Janet L. Abrahm, MD, FACP, FAAHPMAbrahm is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an institute physician practicing palliative care at DFCI and BWH. In 2001, after 20 years as a practicing hematologist/oncologist, she created the first palliative care service and first palliative care fellowship at DFCI and BWH. Since 2010, Abrahm has participated internationally in the Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EPEC)-Oncology course as a master teacher. Her work in this area has led to numerous accolades and awards as a thought leader, mentor, and educator. Along with her work at DFCI, Abrahm continues her work as an innovator in the field of palliative care, participating in a research team that leverages national clinical practice guidelines to harness clinical decision support to enhance oncologists' management of their patients' symptoms. Conquer Cancer Announces 2024 WWCC Mentorship Award Recipients Conquer Cancer, an ASCO Foundation, announced the recipients of two mentorship awards distributed through the Women Who Conquer Cancer WWCC initiative. Sharon H. Giordano, MD, MPH, FASCO, will receive the Hologic, Inc., Endowed Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award, and Ines Vaz-Luis, MD, PhD, will receive the 2024 International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award.Sharon H. Giordano, MD, MPH, FASCO: Sharon H. Giordano, MD, MPH, FASCOInes Vaz-Luis, MD, PhD: Ines Vaz-Luis, MD, PhDGiordano is a medical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with breast cancer. She serves as the Colin Powell Chair for Cancer Research, Chair of the Department of Health Services Research, and Professor of Medicine in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her work focuses on quality of health care delivery, disparities, male breast cancer, and outcomes for patients with breast cancer. Giordano serves on the NCCN Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Panel and co-chairs several of ASCO's breast cancer clinical practice guideline expert panels. She is dedicated to mentoring and developing the careers of trainees and junior faculty. Vaz-Luis is a Portuguese medical oncologist and clinical researcher focused on cancer survivorship. In 2016, she moved to Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France, to direct an innovative survivorship-focused clinical and research group, which now includes dozens of researchers and clinician-scientists and has transformed into an institutional flagship program focused on survivorship (INTERVAL). Vaz-Luis leads several national efforts focused on quality of life and cancer; she co-chairs the scientific development of the CANTO cohort (CANcer TOxicities, NCT01993498), and she is leading the development of a national digital platform to accelerate decentralized cancer research (WeShare). Over the past decade, Vaz-Luis' research focused on the quantification of treatment-related burden, the stratification of the risk of cancer-related toxicities, and the development and implementation of interventions to mitigate quality-of-life deterioration, including digitally enabled pathways of care. Share Your News! Send information on career developments and cancer center news for this column to [email protected]

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