(Press-News.org) CHICAGO – The Pezcoller Foundation-American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research will be presented to Douglas Hanahan, PhD, Fellow of the AACR Academy, during the AACR Annual Meeting 2025, to be held April 25-30 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Hanahan is the Ludwig Distinguished Scholar at the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. He is being recognized for his fundamental discoveries in cancer research that have had a far-reaching translational impact. Through the generation and characterization of innovative mouse models, Hanahan defined multistep tumorigenesis by uncovering the molecular mechanisms required to drive cancer growth and helped establish the principle that malignant traits in cancer are conferred by cooperative interactions between cancer cells and co-opted host cells recruited into the tumor microenvironment. Notably, Hanahan conceptualized, together with Robert A. Weinberg, PhD, the “Hallmarks of Cancer,” a logical framework for rationalizing the vast complexity of cancer that continues to evolve and resonate broadly with the entire cancer research community.
The Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research was established in 1997 to recognize scientists who have made major scientific discoveries in basic or translational cancer research. Awardees must be active in cancer research, have a record of recent noteworthy publications, and be conducting ongoing work that holds promise for continued substantive contributions to progress in the field of cancer.
Hanahan is revered as a quintessential scientific pioneer who has expertly helped propel and shape the emergence of functional genetics in cancer research. Early in his career, Hanahan demonstrated that oncogene expression is not sufficient to drive tumor formation, identifying that tumorigenesis requires the acquisition of secondary events, such as resistance to cell death, the induction of angiogenesis, or immune evasion. Hanahan was also among the first to demonstrate that the tumor microenvironment is a barrier to antitumor cytotoxic T-cell activity. Further, he helped establish the concept that inflammation can be tumorigenic and explored the tumor-promoting functions of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, vascular cells, and extracellular proteases.
In collaboration with the late Judah Folkman, MD, Hanahan codiscovered the “angiogenic switch,” a key process in tumor growth. This fundamental work led to critical insights into therapeutic strategies for targeting tumor angiogenesis, such as the identification of unexpected adaptive resistance mechanisms, which illuminated why some monotherapies exhibit limited clinical efficacy. More recently, Hanahan has demonstrated the potential of angiogenesis inhibitors in cotargeting treatment strategies. Additionally, his latest research has profoundly contributed to cancer-related neuroscience by revealing the functional importance of co-opted neuronal signaling pathways in cancer cell invasion, metastasis, and immune evasion.
“Dr. Hanahan is an extraordinary scientist whose innovative and multidisciplinary work has led to numerous fundamental discoveries in cancer research,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. “His remarkable research has significantly advanced the field of cancer biology and has led to profound advancements in progress against cancer for the benefit of all patients. The Pezcoller Foundation and the AACR are absolutely delighted to recognize him with this most prestigious international award.”
“We are grateful to the AACR for the long-lasting collaboration on this award, which recognizes and rewards, year after year, scientists who have paved the way for the most important discoveries and applications in the fight against cancer,” said Enzo Galligioni, MD, president of the Pezcoller Foundation. “We are especially happy that the award is being given this year to Douglas Hanahan for his impressive series of fundamental discoveries, which have influenced the research of many cancer scientists over the past 25 years.”
Hanahan has been a member of the AACR since 2000 and was elected as a Fellow of the AACR Academy in 2014. His scientific achievements have been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the AACR Lifetime Achievement Award (2014); the Fondazione San Salvatore Award for Cancer Research (2012); and the National Cancer Association of France Grand Prize for Biology (1993). He is also an elected foreign member of the Royal Society (2023) and an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (2010), the National Academy of Sciences (2009), the National Academy of Medicine (2008), and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007).
He earned his undergraduate degree in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his PhD in biophysics at Harvard University.
The date, time, and title of Hanahan’s award lecture will be announced prior to the AACR Annual Meeting 2025.
END
Douglas Hanahan, Ph.D., FAACR, honored with the 2025 Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research
2025-03-11
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