ASCO Announces Its 2024 Oncology Award Recipients

ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) was founded in 1964 when 7 oncologists came together. The aim of that original group, and of today's more than 40 thousand ASCO members, is to offer better treatment options to patients with cancer.

For 60 years, ASCO and its members have made revolutionary advances in oncology. The number of cancer drugs, once only a handful, is now around 200. Patients are living longer and enjoying better quality of life. Nevertheless, some cancers remain difficult to diagnose and treat. New research in the coming years will offer hope to many patients with cancer.

Each year, ASCO honors researchers, patient advocates, philanthropists, mentors, and global oncology leaders who are reshaping cancer care worldwide. Here are the recipients of the 2024 ASCO Special Awards:

Dr. Robet A. Winn – Allen Lichter Visionary Leader Award

Dr. Robert A. Winn, executive director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, is a nationally recognized leader who has established a model for cancer science and equitable care in the 21st century. Dr. Winn works with cancer professionals on research designed to address the cancer burden and disparities as effectively as possible. These efforts earned him the Allen Lichter Visionary Leader Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The award honors Dr. Allen S. Lichter's leadership and vision in oncology and recognizes leaders who have played important roles in launching major new initiatives to improve the quality and value of cancer care.

Dr. Winn's previous roles include director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center from 2015-2019 and associate vice chancellor for health affairs for community-based practice at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. In these positions, he made significant advances in promoting inclusion and diversity in cancer research and patient care.

Dr. Winn's leadership skills and contributions to cancer research were instrumental in his receiving this prestigious award. His achievements have been recognized through numerous national grants and awards supporting his efforts to improve equity in cancer care and reach broader communities.

Dr. Winn serves as 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 member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy; and a board member of the American Cancer Society and the LUNGevity Foundation.

Dr. Smita Bhatia – ASCO–American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Award

An ASCO member with a Master of Public Health degree, Dr. Smita Bhatia is the White Endowed Professor in the Division of 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 2006-2014 and joined UAB in 2015 to establish the Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship. She is an internationally recognized oncology leader whose work has received continuous funding from the NCI and the Lymphoma & Lymph Node Society since 2000. She serves as an associate editor of Journal of Clinical Oncology and as senior editor of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention . She is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians and a former ASCO board member.

Dr. William Dale – B.J. Kennedy Geriatric Oncology Award

ASCO member Dr. William Dale is an internationally recognized leader in cancer and aging, supportive care medicine, cancer survivorship, and medical decision-making. An internist, geriatrician, and supportive care specialist with a doctorate in health policy, Dr. Dale has dedicated his career to improving and optimizing care for adults and older people with cancer and other diseases. He holds the George Tsai Family Chair in Geriatric Oncology in honor of Arti Hurria and is vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Supportive Care Medicine at City of Hope. He has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for work on medical decision-making, high-value care models, and age-appropriate infrastructure, and has more than 250 publications. In addition to publishing the latest ASCO guideline, Dr. Dale co-leads the Cancer and Aging Research Group.

Dr. Lillian L. Siu – David Karnofsky Memorial Award

A member of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and of ASCO, Dr. Lillian L. Siu is a senior medical oncologist who directs the Phase I Clinical Trials Program, co-directs the Bras and Family Drug Development Program, serves as clinical lead of the Tumor Immunotherapy Program, and holds the BMO Chair in Precision Genomics at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. She is also a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. One of Dr. Siu's main research interests is developing new anticancer drugs, particularly in phase I trials and head and neck cancers . She is the co-contact principal investigator for an NCI-sponsored phase I UM1 grant. Alongside her active early-phase clinical trial research, she leads genomic initiatives and immuno-oncology research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Dr. Siu is a former ASCO and AACR board member and former chair of the Conquer Cancer Grants Selection Committee. She received the 2020 International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award.

Dr. Lori J. Pierce – ASCO Excellence in Equity Award

A member of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and of ASCO, Dr. Lori J. Pierce is a professor of radiation oncology and vice provost for academic and faculty affairs at the University of Michigan. She is a cancer physician whose research has always been based on the clinical needs of patients with breast cancer . Much of her work has focused on combining radiosensitizing drugs with radiotherapy to overcome radiation resistance, the effects of radiotherapy in women with inherited mutations in breast cancer susceptibility genes, and developing radiation treatment planning techniques that optimize cardiac protection. She directs the Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium, which aims to improve the quality and equitable delivery of radiation to patients with cancer in Michigan and elsewhere. A former ASCO president, Dr. Pierce currently chairs ASCO's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She has received numerous awards from national organizations, including the American Society for Radiation Oncology Gold Medal, the American Association for Women Radiologists Marie Curie Award, and the Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. She currently serves on the Breast Cancer Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation board, and the National Advisory Board for the Robert Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program.

Dr. Philip Kantoff – Excellence in Teaching Award

Dr. Philip Kantoff is president and co-founder of Convergent Therapeutics, a clinical-stage radioantibody company. Before joining Convergent Therapeutics, Dr. Kantoff chaired the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for 6 years. There, he led a department of approximately 500 physicians and physician-scientists providing cancer care and developing cancer treatments. He also holds the emeritus Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Chair in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), he chaired the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology and directed the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology. In these roles, he established laboratory research alongside clinical care and research. During that time, he served as a clinical investigator and principal investigator in major trials devoted to developing new therapeutic targets for patients with advanced prostate cancer , and helped set broad clinical research priorities during his time at DFCI. He has offered dozens of physician-scientists, scientists, trainees, and junior faculty members mentorship throughout his career.

Dr. Lisa Newman – Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award

With a Master of Public Health degree and membership in the American College of Surgeons and ASCO, Dr. Lisa Newman is a surgical oncologist dedicated to breast cancer management. She currently oversees the Breast Program for the Weill Cornell Medicine–NewYork Presbyterian Hospital Network, covering Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. She is also founder and executive director of the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, based at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her principal research interests are racial and ethnic variation in breast cancer risk and outcomes, and advanced breast surgical techniques. She has an extensive record of community service and serves as chief national medical advisor to Sisters Network, Inc., a national support organization for African American breast cancer survivors. She oversees an international breast cancer research and training program with partners in Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, and the Caribbean. Her extensive disparities research has appeared in numerous high-impact journals and was featured in CNN's Black in America 2 documentary. She has also appeared as a breast cancer expert on NBC's Today Show and CBS Nightly News. Dr. Newman serves on the board of AACR, which is the Susan G. Komen Foundation Scientific Advisory Board, and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine earlier this year.

Dr. Satisg Gopal – Humanitarian Awards

With a Master of Public Health degree, Dr. Satisg Gopal directs the NCI Center for Global Health. In this role, he works with other NCI and NIH partners to develop initiatives and collaborations, and with NCI-designated cancer centers and governmental and nongovernmental organizations to support cancer research in low- and middle-income countries, promote science-based cancer control, and build research capacity. Before joining the NCI, Dr. Gopal directed the cancer program in a partnership between the University of North Carolina and Malawi's Ministry of Health. As an extramural investigator-scientist, his NIH-funded research program focused on epidemiological, clinical, and translational studies of lymphoma and HIV-associated cancers in Africa. He also led a multidisciplinary cancer research portfolio aimed at addressing cervical, breast, and esophageal cancers, among the region's most common cancers. Throughout his career, he has mentored more than 30 early-career American and African predoctoral and postdoctoral cancer researchers who hold academic positions in global oncology at NCI-designated cancer centers, African academic institutions, and other international organizations.

Dr. Miriam Mutebi – Humanitarian Awards

A member of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Miriam Mutebi is a consultant and assistant professor of breast surgery in the Department of Surgery at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. She is also a clinical epidemiologist and health systems researcher focused on understanding barriers to access for women with cancer in sub-Saharan Africa and designing interventions to reduce those barriers. She is president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer, a former president of the Kenya Society of Hematology and Oncology, and a board member of the Union for International Cancer Control. She co-founded the Pan-African Women Surgeons Association, established to mentor women in the operating room and provide transformative leadership to improve surgical care and pathology across the continent, and is also part of the Kenya Association of Women Surgeons. She co-chairs Kenya's National Cancer Task Force, chairs the Commonwealth Task Force for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, and is a commissioner on five Lancet commissions, including Women, Power, and Cancer; Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa; and Breast Cancer. She is currently working toward a guidance license to extend breast care services to marginalized regions.

Jill Feldman – Patient Advocate Award

Jill Feldman, a patient with lung cancer , is a passionate advocate with a personal commitment to this cause. With a family history of the disease, Feldman became involved in lung cancer advocacy in 2001. In 2009, at age 39, she was a mother of four young children when she was diagnosed with EGFR-positive lung cancer . Ms. Feldman's advocacy focuses on patient-centered research and care, and she is a former chair of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's Patient Advisory Board. She serves on the program panel for the United States Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program, the ECOG-ACRIN Research Group's Patient Advocate Committee and Thoracic Committee, and as a patient advocate on the National Lung Cancer Roundtable Steering Committee. By founding a community called EGFR Registers, she seeks to accelerate research, support patients and families, and promote best practices. Feldman holds various leadership roles through which she works to humanize the narrative around lung cancer research and care. She emphasizes the importance of considering the disease's profound effects on patients and their families beyond statistics and survival. She also strongly advocates embedding a health equity perspective in every aspect of research and care.

Dr. Richard Gorlick – Pediatric Oncology Award

Dr. Richard Gorlick is division head and chair of pediatrics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also holds the Distinguished Chair in Pediatrics honoring Dr. H. Grant Taylor, Dr. W.W. Sutow, and Dr. Margaret P. Sullivan. He is currently serving as interim chair of the Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology at MD Anderson. He also directs the Pediatric Sarcoma Research Laboratory, which focuses on advancing targeted treatments for childhood cancers and understanding the development and progression of osteosarcoma. A respected expert in pediatric oncology, Dr. Gorlick has published more than 325 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters. He supports organizations including the NCI's Pediatric Preclinical in Vivo Testing (PIVOT) Program, the Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration consortium, and the Children's Oncology Group (COG). Dr. Gorlick's early involvement with COG led his laboratory to establish a bone tumor bank regarded as the world's largest osteosarcoma tissue bank . He is a former president of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society and currently chairs the Childhood Cancer Advisory Committee of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

Prof. Jennifer A. Pietenpol – Science of Oncology Award

Jennifer A. Pietenpol is a professor of biochemistry at Vanderbilt University and a distinguished scientific research leader recognized for numerous contributions to cancer science. These include transformative work on triple-negative breast cancer and the p53 family signaling network. Combining expertise in tumor suppressor genes and molecular genetics with bioinformatic analyses of high-dimensional genomic datasets, she and her team have classified difficult-to-treat triple-negative breast cancer into subtypes. Her laboratory's research has influenced numerous scientific and medical fields and translated its discoveries into clinical impact for patients with breast cancer. Dr. Pietenpol serves as chief scientific and strategy officer and executive vice president at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is chief scientific advisor to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and an active member of several advisory boards, including those of NCI comprehensive cancer centers. Her contributions to oncology were recognized when former President Bush appointed her to the National Cancer Advisory Board, where she served a 6-year term. She was also an important member of the Blue Ribbon Panel advising National Cancer Month during Biden's vice presidency.

Dr. Janet L. Abrahm – Walther Cancer Foundation Supportive Oncology Award

A faculty member of the American College and a member of the American Academy of Palliative and End-of-Life Care, Dr. Janet L. Abrahm is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an institute physician practicing palliative care at DFCI and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH). After practicing as a hematologist/oncologist for 20 years, Dr. Abrahm established, in 2001, the first palliative care service and the first palliative care specialty training program at DFCI and BWH.

Dr. Abrahm served on the faculty of the national DFCI Master Course for oncologists for more than 10 years, speaking on a wide range of cancer-related palliative care topics. Since 2010, she has worked internationally as a master teacher in the International Palliative and End-of-Life Education course. Her work in this field has earned numerous honors and awards as a thought leader, mentor, and educator. Alongside her work at DFCI, she continues working with a research team using a clinical decision-support system to improve oncologists' ability to manage patients' symptoms through national clinical practice guidelines. Her website, JanetAbrahm.com , provides oncology professionals with resources on pain and symptom management, communication, end-of-life care, and other topics, helping them relieve the suffering that cancer causes patients, families, and themselves.

Dr. Sharon H. Giordano – Hologic Inc. Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award 

An ASCO member with a Master of Public Health degree, Dr. Sharon H. Giordano is a medical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with breast cancer. She holds the Colin Powell Chair for Cancer Research, chairs the Department of Health Services Research, and is a professor of medicine in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Her work focuses on health care quality, disparities, male breast cancer , and outcomes for patients with breast cancer. She currently receives funding from the NCI, CPRIT, and Susan G. Komen. Dr. Giordano serves on the NCCN Breast Cancer Guidelines Panel and co-chairs several ASCO breast cancer clinical practice guideline expert panels. She is dedicated to developing and guiding the careers of trainees and junior faculty. Her mentoring has earned the Cancer Medicine Mentor of the Year Award and the MD Anderson President's Award for Excellence in Education and Mentoring. She received the MD Anderson Excellence in Leadership Award in 2019, the MD Anderson Cancer Center Jack and Beverly Randall Award for Excellence in 2020, and the President's Excellence Award for Clinical Quality Improvement in 2022.

Dr. Ines Vaz-Luis – International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award

Dr. Ines Vaz-Luis is a Portuguese medical oncologist and clinical researcher focused on cancer survivorship. She trained and held a faculty position at DFCI/Harvard Medical School. In 2016, she moved to Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France, to lead her innovative group, which now includes dozens of researchers and clinician-scientists and has become an institutional survivorship program (INTERVAL). Dr. Vaz-Luis leads several national studies focused on quality of life and cancer. She co-leads the scientific development of the CANTO cohort (CANcer Toxicities; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01993498) and leads the development of a national digital platform to accelerate decentralized cancer research (WeShare). Over the past decade, her research has focused on quantifying treatment burden, stratifying the risk of cancer-related toxicities, and developing and implementing interventions and digitally supported care pathways to reduce quality-of-life impairment. Since 2023, Dr. Vaz-Luis has served as research director of the Interdisciplinary Department for Patient Pathway Organization at Gustave Roussy. She is a board member of the Breast International Group and serves on the European Society for Medical Oncology Scientific Committee and the ASCO Scientific Program Committee. She has mentored many individuals, including resident clinicians, clinical and research fellows, doctoral students, and faculty members.