AACR announces Fellows of the AACR Academy Class of 2025 and new AACR Academy President

(Press-News.org) PHILADELPHIA – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) today announced its newly elected 2025 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy.

The mission of the Fellows of the AACR Academy is to recognize and honor extraordinary scientists whose groundbreaking contributions have driven significant innovation and progress in the fight against cancer. Fellows of the AACR Academy constitute a global brain trust of leading experts in cancer science and medicine, working to advance the AACR’s mission to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, collaboration, communication, advocacy, and funding for cancer research.

Fellows of the AACR Academy are nominated and elected through a meticulous, multistep, peer-reviewed process that rigorously evaluates each candidate’s scientific achievements and contributions to global cancer research. Only those whose work has made a profound and lasting impact on cancer research and related fields are considered for election and induction into the AACR Academy.

“We are very proud to announce the election of 33 new Fellows of the AACR Academy. These remarkable individuals represent a diverse array of scientific disciplines and have made transformative contributions to cancer research,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. “The 2025 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy perfectly exemplifies the pinnacle of scientific innovation and excellence, with their collective scientific contributions fundamentally advancing our understanding of cancer biology and treatment. We are thrilled to welcome them to our distinguished group of Fellows of the AACR Academy, now numbering 375, and look forward to celebratig their groundbreaking achievements at our upcoming Annual Meeting in April 2025.”

The members of the 2025 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy are:

Rafi Ahmed, PhD
Director, Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine; Coleader, Cancer Immunology Research Program, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

For groundbreaking contributions to immunology that defined the regulation of T-cell memory and exhaustion, paving the way for transformative PD-1 pathway blockade therapies.

Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, PhD
Herchel Smith Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge; Senior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute; Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge, United Kingdom

For pioneering research in nucleic acid research and for leading the development of next-generation sequencing technology to identify DNA gene sequences, thereby revolutionizing genome analysis and precision cancer medicine.

Bradley Bernstein, MD, PhD
Chair of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Professor of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School; Director of the Epigenomics Program, Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts

For seminal contributions to cancer epigenetics, including the discovery of bivalent chromatin domains that regulate developmental gene activation and the role of IDH mutations in disrupting chromosomal topology, resulting in the establishment of new mechanisms by which to characterize tumors and optimize therapeutic strategies.

Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) and Urology; Director of Immunotherapy; Medical Director, Vaccine and Cell Therapy Laboratory; Professor, Icahn Genomics Institute; Codirector, Cancer Immunology Program; Ward Coleman Chair in Cancer Research, The Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York

For lauded research contributions to human dendritic cell biology, including the development of Toll-like receptor agonist- and dendritic cell-based vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases, and for leading clinical trials integrating checkpoint immunotherapies and innovative immunoadjuvants to advance patient care.

Piet Borst, MD, PhD
Emeritus Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Amsterdam; Former Group Leader and Scientific Director; Current Honorary Staff Member, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

For paramount advancements to molecular biology and parasitology, including uncovering the mechanisms of surface protein gene relocation in parasites, characterizing telomere expansion, elucidating P-glycoprotein's role in drug resistance, and pioneering gel electrophoresis as a foundational tool in genetic research.

Garrett M. Brodeur, MD
Director, Cancer Predisposition Program, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For invaluable contributions to neuroblastoma research, such as identifying MYCN amplification as a marker of high-risk disease; leading efforts to develop the first International Neuroblastoma Staging System and Risk Grouping that incorporates molecular markers and preclinical development of TRK inhibitors for pediatric solid tumors; organizing pioneering international workshops on pediatric cancer predisposition and surveillance; and developing a novel multivalent nanomedicine (PEEL-24) that is more effective and less toxic than its conventional counterpart, irinotecan.

Pelayo Correa, MD
Professor Emeritus, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 

For illustrious work defining the histological stages of gastric carcinogenesis through the "Correa Cascade" and establishing the link between Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric cancer, fundamentally advancing the understanding of the pathology, epidemiology, and prevention of this disease.

Frederic J. de Sauvage, PhD
Vice President, Research Molecular Oncology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California

For unrivaled investigations leading to the understanding of oncogenic pathways, including the Hedgehog and Wnt signaling pathways, and for spearheading drug development, including vismodegib, the first Hedgehog pathway inhibitor approved for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma.

Caroline Dive, PhD
Director, Cancer Research UK National Biomarker Centre; Interim Director, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, Manchester, United Kingdom

For celebrated research in small cell lung cancer, including the development of circulating tumor cell-derived explant models that have advanced the understanding of tumor biology, thereby accelerating biomarker discovery and reducing the need for invasive biopsies, and for transformative studies involving the use of liquid biopsies to monitor tumor evolution.

Susan M. Domchek, MD
Basser Professor in Oncology; Executive Director, Basser Center for BRCA; Director, MacDonald Cancer Risk Evaluation Center; Abramson Cancer Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For revered contributions to BRCA1/2 cancer susceptibility research, including demonstrating the impact of genetic testing on risk assessment, prevention, and targeted therapies, and for groundbreaking work in developing PARP inhibitors and risk-reducing strategies that have transformed clinical care and outcomes for mutation carriers.

David E. Fisher, MD, PhD
Lancer Professor and Chair, Department of Dermatology; Distinguished Edward Wigglesworth Professor of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Director, Melanoma Program, MGH Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

For trailblazing research in melanoma and ultraviolet (UV)-related carcinogenesis, including the discovery of UV pigmentation pathways, endorphin-mediated addiction to UV radiation and the development of a melanoma diagnostic test and novel treatment for giant nevi that have significantly advanced the understanding of melanoma cell survival and evasion mechanisms.

Stephan A. Grupp, MD, PhD
Yetta Deitch Novotny Endowed Chair in Pediatric Oncology; Chief, Cellular Therapy and Transplant Section; Director, Kelly Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Coleader, Pediatric Cancer Program, Abramson Cancer Center; Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For exemplary research efforts leading to the development of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell (CAR T-cell) therapy in pediatric patients, thereby revolutionizing personalized cancer treatment and leading to the FDA approval of tisagenlecleucel for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the first CART-cell and gene therapy approved for use in patients.

Manuel Hidalgo, MD, PhD
Chief, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Walter B. Wriston Professor of Pancreatic Cancer Research and Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York

For vital contributions to pancreas cancer research, including the development of patient-derived xenograft models and new treatments such as nab-paclitaxel, and for instrumental efforts in pioneering innovative clinical trial designs and advancing the clinical development of more than 30 new anticancer agents.

Susan G. Hilsenbeck, PhD
Professor, Smith Breast Center; Director, Quantitative Sciences Shared Resource, Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

For critical research in cancer biostatistics, including identifying prognostic and predictive biomarkers, elucidating tumor resistance mechanisms to chemotherapy, and discovering novel subtypes and targets of triple-negative breast cancer, while enhancing the overall scientific rigor of a wide array of clinical investigations.

Elaine S. Jaffe, MD
NIH Distinguished Investigator, Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

For unrivaled research efforts in hematopathology, including revolutionizing the classification of lymphoid neoplasms through the development of the World Health Organization-endorsed REAL (Revised European American Lymphoma) classification, and for defining novel disease entities that have transformed diagnostic standards and patient care in lymphoma and leukemia.

John Kuriyan, PhD
University Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Cell and Developmental Biology; Mary Geddes Stahlman Chair; Dean, School of Medicine Basic Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

For heralded contributions to cell signaling and kinase biology, including the elucidation of the switching mechanisms of tyrosine kinases such as SRC and EGFR, which has advanced the fundamental understanding of signal transduction regulation and informed the development of kinase-targeted therapies for cancer and other malignancies.

A. Thomas Look, MD
Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatric Oncology, Harvard Medical School; Associate Physician, Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, Massachusetts

For revolutionary discoveries pertaining to the molecular pathogenesis of leukemia, lymphoma, and neuroblastoma, including identifying novel oncogenes such E2A-HLF and NPM-ALK; for elucidating oncogene-driven signaling pathways; and for developing transgenic zebrafish models to identify new molecular targets for childhood cancers.

Ari M. Melnick, MD
Gebroe Family Professor of Hematology/Oncology and Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York

For pivotal research demonstrating that transcription factors are druggable targets, characterizing epigenetic landscapes in cancer, identifying novel disease mechanisms such as IDH mutation-induced epigenetic events, and defining novel epigenetic mechanisms responsible for disrupting the immune system and promoting malignant transformation.

Paul S. Mischel, MD
Fortinet Founders Professor; Vice Chair for Research, Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine; Institute Scholar, ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, California

For profound contributions to the scientific understanding of the role of extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in cancer development and therapeutic resistance, including the development of innovative techniques to monitor ecDNA segregation during cell division.

Nubia Muñoz, MD, MPH
Emeritus Professor, National Cancer Institute, Bogotá, Colombia; Emeritus Scientist, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia

For pioneering global epidemiological studies that established the critical link between human papilloma virus (HPV) and cervical cancer, ultimately leading to the development of HPV vaccines, HPV diagnostic tests, and coordinated global efforts to prevent cervical cancer, while simultaneously highlighting the vital importance of population-based studies.

Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH
Chief, Section of Breast Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center; Professor of Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine; Executive Director and Founder, International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York

For steadfast commitment to breast cancer disparities research, including the characterization of the genetic origins of triple-negative breast cancer and defining its prevalence in women of African descent by establishing the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, and for advancing innovative breast surgery techniques that have enhanced comprehensive patient care.

Electra D. Paskett, PhD, MSPH
Marion N. Rowley Professor of Cancer Research; Director, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Department of Internal Medicine; Distinguished Professor, College of Medicine; Professor, Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health; Deputy Director for Population Sciences and Community Outreach, Comprehensive Cancer Center; Founding Director, Center for Cancer Health Equity, Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

For invaluable contributions to cancer screening, prevention, and survivorship in underserved and high-risk populations for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer, as well as for seminal studies that established aspirin’s role in preventing colorectal adenomas and duloxetine's impact on improving patient quality of life following chemotherapy.

Ira Pastan, MD
NIH Distinguished Investigator, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland  

For visionary contributions to cancer therapy through the development of recombinant immunotoxins, a groundbreaking class of targeted drugs that selectively kill cancer cells, in turn revolutionizing treatments for solid tumors, leukemia, and mesothelioma; and for advancing the field of receptor biology, which has ultimately contributed to the establishment of targeted antibodies as a cancer therapy.

William R. Sellers, MD
Director, Cancer Program, Broad Institute; Professor of Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston Massachusetts

For vital contributions to cancer genomics and drug discovery, including codiscovering EGFR mutations in lung cancer, discovering the role of MITF as a lineage oncogene in melanoma, leading the development of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia initiative, and advancing over 35 cancer therapeutics into clinical trials, effectively revolutionizing precision medicine for a diverse array of cancer types.

David Sidransky, MD
Professor of Oncology, Otolaryngology, and Urology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland

For revolutionizing non-invasive liquid biopsy techniques for early cancer detection in tobacco-associated tumors, as well as being the first to identify genetic alterations in body fluids, leading to significant advancements in diagnostic methods and therapeutic drug development.

Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD
Head, Medical Oncology Department, Vall d’Hebron Barcelona Hospital; Director, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain

For cutting-edge contributions to translational gastrointestinal cancer research, from the biological basis of disease to the clinical implementation of novel therapies and application of biomarkers in clinical trials; for the development of patient-derived xenograft models that have advanced therapies targeting the HER/ERK and P13K signaling pathways in RAS/RAF-wild type and -mutant cancers; and for identifying predictive biomarkers to optimize treatment response and overcome therapeutic resistance.

Ronald D. Vale, PhD
Senior Group Leader, Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia

For essential discoveries involving the mechanics of cellular motor proteins, including the identification of kinesin and its role in cellular processes including cell division and transport, and for unraveling the dynamics of dynein, leading to potential cancer therapies targeting both kinesin and dynein that have resulted in fundamental insights into the mechanisms of cancer metastases.

Ashok Venkitaraman, MBBS, PhD
Director, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore; Distinguished Professor of Medicine, National University of Singapore; Research Director, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology & Research (A*STAR), Singapore

For pioneering research elucidating the tumor suppressive functions of the hereditary breast cancer gene BRCA2 in genome maintenance, uncovering the mechanisms responsible for carcinogenesis in BRCA2 mutation carriers, and advancing technologies to accelerate drug discovery, thereby establishing a foundation for the development of novel cancer therapies.

Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil
Director, Abramson Cancer Center; John H. Glick, MD, Abramson Cancer Center’s Professor; Vice Dean, Cancer Programs, Perelman School of Medicine; Vice President, Cancer Programs, University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

For groundbreaking research involving the integration of basic and clinical investigations to advance the establishment of novel cancer immunotherapies such as vaccines, antibody-based therapies, and adoptive T-cell therapies, and for defining the immunobiology of tumor microenvironments through the use of genetically engineered mouse models.

John N. Weinstein, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Division of Quantitative Sciences; Hubert L. Stringer Chair in Cancer Research, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

For pioneering multi-omic molecular profiling of cancers in the laboratory and on the computer, including customization of cell management and assay methodologies, introduction of the Clustered Heat Map, and early innovations in artificial intelligence for cancer drug discovery. Those contributions preceded and influenced The Cancer Genome Atlas, Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, and many subsequent multi-omic projects in which he has participated or led.

Paul Workman, PhD
Group Leader, Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery; Harrap Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics; Former President and Chief Executive, The Institute of Cancer Research; Codirector, CRUK Children's Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Cambridge University, United Kingdom

For instrumental advancements to cancer drug development, including the discovery of the HSP90 inhibitor NVP-AUY922 (luminespib), the PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941 (pictilisib), the AKT inhibitor AZD5363 (capivasertib), and the EGFR inhibitor ZD1939 (gefitinib); and for conceptualizing the “Pharmacological Audit Trail,” a biomarker-driven framework that has revolutionized rational decision-making in the establishment of oncology therapeutics.

Jinghui Zhang, PhD
Member, St. Jude Faculty; St. Jude Endowed Chair in Bioinformatics, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee

For pioneering innovative analytical and visualization tools tailored for pediatric cancer research that have led to the definition of the molecular drivers of more than 20 cancer subtypes, and for pioneering the St. Jude Cloud platform for genomic data sharing and analysis of patient samples for more than 10,000 cancer patients and survivors that has provided crucial insights into the genetic origins of pediatric cancer.

Leonard I. Zon, MD

Grousbeck Professor of Pediatric Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Director, Stem Cell Program, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland

For fundamental research contributions to the establishment of zebrafish as a viable and effective model for the investigation of hematopoiesis and cancer, which led to the discovery of neural crest transformation as a driver of melanoma initiation and PGE2’s critical role in enhancing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

AACR ACADEMY ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT The Fellows of the AACR Academy have elected Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD, FAACR, as their next President. She will assume the presidency during the AACR Annual Meeting 2025, to be held April 25-30 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Fuchs was elected as a Fellow of the AACR Academy in 2013 as a pioneering leader in skin stem cell research and skin-related diseases. Her work has transformed the understanding of skin biology through reverse genetics, mouse models, and groundbreaking studies involving skin stem cell function, differentiation, and carcinogenesis. For her many contributions to the biological sciences, Fuchs was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2009 and the AACR-G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award for Outstanding Basic Cancer Research in 2019. She also served as a member of the AACR Board of Directors from 2020-2023.

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