ASCO Honors Leaders and Innovators With Special Awards

Outstanding individuals across all specialties of oncology were recognized at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held June 3-7 in Chicago, with the organization’s highest honors, the 2016 Special Awards. Honorees were commended for a wide range of accomplishments, from innovative research and patient care to inspiring mentorship and leadership.

Paul A. Bunn Jr, MD

Bunn, a Distinguished Professor of Medicine and the James Dudley Endowed Professor of Lung Cancer at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, has dedicated his career to identifying novel diagnostics and treatment strategies for lung cancer. He has served as president of ASCO, president and executive director of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, and chair of the FDA Oncology Drug Advisory Committee.

David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award and Lecture

William G. Kaelin Jr, MD

A professor of medicine at the Dana- Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Kaelin has focused on determining how mutations in tumor suppressor genes affect cancer development. Kaelin, who is also a senior physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was a key player in the identification and understanding of the VHL protein, a discovery that was instrumental for the subsequent successful development of VEGF inhibitors to treat kidney cancer.

Science of Oncology Award and Lecture

Ethan Dmitrovsky, MD

Dmitrovsky is the provost and executive vice president of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also serves as a professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology in the Division of Cancer Medicine at the cancer center. He was recognized for his groundbreaking work that led to the development of all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) for acute promyelocytic leukemia.

ASCO-American Cancer Society Award and Lecture

Pierre Soubeyran, MD, PhD

Soubeyran, professor of Medicine in the Medical Oncology Department at Institut Bergonié, Regional Cancer Center in Bordeaux, France, has been critical to the development of geriatric oncology at the clinical and research levels in both the United States and France. He is responsible for designing pivotal trials for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and implementing novel screening methods, both which were key to improving treatment and care for elderly patients.

B.J. Kennedy Award and Lecture for Scientific Excellence in Geriatric Oncology

David H. Johnson, MD

Johnson was recognized for his decades-long career in internal medicine and oncology as a cancer physician, researcher, and medical educator. In addition, ASCO honored him for exceptional work as a mentor of the next generation of physicians at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he serves as the chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Distinguished Achievement Award

Philip C. Hoffman, MD

Hoffman is a professor of medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine. He was one of the original masters of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators at Pritzker and has been honored as a favorite faculty member 25 times by graduating medical students.

Excellence in Teaching Award

C. Kent Osborne, MD

Breast cancer expert Osborne, a professor of medicine and molecular and cellular biology and the director of the Dan L. Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine, was honored for his research on hormone pathways, which was key to the identification of fulvestrant as the most potent endocrine therapy for patients with breast cancer. He has also conducted pioneering research on the mechanisms of resistance to targeted endocrine therapies.

Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Award and Lecture

Quyen Chu, MD, MBA, FACS

Chu has dedicated his career to improving cancer care for patients in low-income countries, a mission that has led him to Vietnam, Iraq, and Nicaragua. He currently serves as the chief of Surgical Oncology and the Charles Knight Sr Endowed Professor of Surgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

Humanitarian Award

Susan G. Braun, MA, FASCO

Braun is chief executive officer of the V Foundation for Cancer Research, which has funded more than $130 million in cancer research grants nationwide. She was recognized for her service in leadership roles at several major cancer nonprofit organizations throughout the past 20 years.

Partners in Progress Award

Susan L. Cohn, MD

Cohn, a pediatric oncologist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago, was honored for her work on series of risk-based clinical trials to improve treatment for patients with lowand intermediate-risk neuroblastoma and survival for high-risk patients. She is a leader in conducting phase I clinical trials for pediatric oncology patients.

Pediatric Oncology Award and Lecture

Waun Ki Hong, MD, FACP, DMSc (Hon)

Hong, who heads the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, has spent his more than 36-year career in translational and clinical cancer research advocating for chemoprevention of epithelial cancers and emphasizing the importance of personalized cancer therapy. His recent achievements include the development of biopsy-mandated, personalized, targeted therapy for lung cancer based on genetic abnormalities in tumor tissue.

Special Recognition Award