The Conquer Cancer Merit Awards support oncology trainees who are first authors on abstracts selected for presentation at an ASCO scientific meeting, including the ASCO Annual Meeting and thematic symposia.
Conquer Cancer will recognize 127 recipients with Merit Awards at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, having already recognized 70 symposia-specific Conquer Cancer Merit Award recipients so far in 2018. These young oncology professionals are recognized for their important research findings in their respective fields within the cancer care continuum.
Five additional recipients will be presented with Special Merit Awards for receiving the highest ranking scores in their respective abstract categories as determined by the ASCO Scientific Program Committee:
Andrea Gross, National Institutes of Health
Receives the Bradley Stuart Beller Endowed Merit Award for the highest ranking abstract overall: SPRINT: Phase II Study of the MEK 1/2 inhibitor selumetinib (AZD6244, ARRY-142886) in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 and inoperable plexiform neurofibromas (Abstract 10503).
Supported by: Friends and Family of Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Beller
Alicia Latham Schwark, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Receives the Allen S. Lichter, Endowed Merit Award for the second highest ranking abstract: Pan-cancer microsatellite instability to predict for presence of Lynch syndrome (Abstract LBA1509).
Anita Peoples, University of Rochester Medical Center
Receives the Pain and Symptom Management Special Merit Award for the highest ranked abstract in pain management research: Effect of pre-treatment sleep disturbance on radiation therapy-induced pain in 676 women with breast cancer (Abstract 10100).
Fiorela Hernandez Tejada, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Receives the Brigid Leventhal Special Merit Award for the top-ranking abstract in pediatric oncology: ROR1-specific CAR for neuroblastoma using sleeping beauty-modified T cells (Abstract 10523).
Jack Shern, National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health
Receives the James B. Nachman Endowed ASCO Junior Faculty Award in Pediatric Oncology for the abstract: Targeted resequencing of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma: Report from the Children’s Oncology Group, the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group, the Institute of Cancer Research UK, and the National Cancer Institute (Abstract 10515).
Supported by: Friends and Family of Dr. James B. Nachman
MSR, RTA, and LIFe
Conquer Cancer has a vision of “a world free from the fear of cancer,” which requires collaboration across borders and amongst researchers from diverse backgrounds. Conquer Cancer’s MSR, RTA, and LIFe programs work to ensure that everyone, regardless of country of origin or background, has the opportunity to learn from other cancer researchers and make advancements in the field of oncology.
The Medical Student Rotation for Underrepresented Populations provides clinical rotations for U.S. medical students from underrepresented populations in medicine who are interested in a career in oncology, and pairs them with an oncology mentor.
The 2018 MSR recipients are:
Mustafa Basree, University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine
Anita Chanana, Stanford University
Kirsten Concha-Moore, University of Arizona
Kimberly Loo, Fox Chase Cancer Center
Veronica Manzo, Stanford University
Sylvestor Moses, PhD, University of Arizona
Kekoa Taparra, Mayo Clinic
The Resident Travel Award for Underrepresented Populations provides funding for residents from underrepresented populations to attend the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, where recipients will get the chance to network with oncologists, attend educational sessions, and develop a deeper understanding of the oncology field.
The 2018 RTA recipients are:
Maria Garcia-Jimenez, New York University
Joannie Ivory, Saint Louis University
Carla Justiniano, University of Rochester Medical Center
Patrick Moore, East Carolina University
Jenny Ruiz, Columbia University Medical Center
Cristian Serna-Tamayo, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Established in 2010, the Long-term International Fellowship enriches the education and training of young oncologists in low- and middle-income countries by providing a one-year fellowship with an ASCO mentor in the United States, Canada, or the European Union. The fellowship helps to foster international communication and educational support and emphasizes the importance of mentoring in the oncology field.
The 2018 LIFe recipient is:
Dorothy Lombe
“Utilisation of Interstitial brachytherapy for target dose optimisation in the treatment of locally advanced cervical cancer”
Home Institution: Cancer Diseases Hospital, Zambia
Sponsoring Institution: BC Cancer Agency, Canada
Mentor: Juanita Crook, MD, FRCPC
