Distinguished Service Awards were presented to Kwun Fong, MBBS, PhD, FRACP; Claudia Henschke, MD, PhD; Erik Thunnissen, MD, PhD; and Julie Brahmer, MD, MSc, FASCO, during the 2024 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference on Lung Cancer.
Adi F. Gazdar IASLC Merit Award
Kwun Fong, MBBS, PhD, FRACP
The Adi F. Gazdar IASLC Merit Award, which was presented to Prof. Fong, recognizes and honors Dr. Gazdar’s lifelong dedication to lung cancer research through his pioneering work in molecular pathology. Prof. Fong is Clinical Manager of the Pulmonary Malignancy Unit at the Prince Charles Hospital and the University of Queensland Thoracic Research Center, Brisbane, Australia. As a physician-researcher, he has spearheaded clinical research into lung cancer screening in Australia and is a mentor to the next generation of lung cancer researchers and clinicians. His research crosses basic and applied science, clinical research, and knowledge translation.
Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award
Claudia Henschke, MD, PhD
The Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award, which was presented to Dr. Henschke, recognizes an IASLC scientist for a lifetime achievement in the prevention of thoracic malignancies. Dr. Henschke is Professor of Radiology and Director of the Early Lung and Cardiac Action Program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York. She has spent her career and research efforts validating lung cancer early detection by computed tomography (CT) screening. Dr. Henschke is currently researching the use of artificial intelligence to read CT scans and identify whether a scan requires further review by a radiologist or no further radiologic review, as determined by showing no significant change in comparison with a previous scan.
Mary J. Matthews Pathology/Translational Research Award
Erik Thunnissen, MD, PhD
The Mary J. Matthews Pathology/Translational Research Award, which was presented to Prof. Thunnissen, recognizes an IASLC scientist for a lifetime achievement in pathology and translational research of thoracic malignancies. Prof. Thunnissen is a pulmonary pathologist at Amsterdam University Medical Center. He is known for his work in histopathology and molecular pathology, with an emphasis on robustness, reproducibility, and quality assurance in pathology diagnosis and molecular testing. He has co-led several reproducibility studies on lung adenocarcinoma subtype diagnosis.
Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award
Julie Brahmer, MD, MSc, FASCO
The Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award—named for the longtime executive director of the IASLC—was awarded to Dr. Brahmer. This award recognizes an IASLC scientist for a lifetime achievement of scientific contributions to thoracic cancer research. Dr. Brahmer is the Marilyn Meyerhoff Professor of Thoracic Oncology and Director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore. Recognized for her work in immunotherapy for lung cancer, Dr. Brahmer was the first to include a cohort of patients with non–small cell lung cancer in an immunotherapy trial.
