Areej R. El-Jawahri, MD, FASCO, was named by ASCO as the 2026 recipient of the Joseph Simone Quality Care Award. She accepted her award and presented her keynote lecture at the 2026 ASCO Quality Care Symposium held recently in Boston. Dr. El-Jawahri is Co-Director of the Cancer Outcomes Research and Education Program (CORE) at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has spent her career transforming supportive and palliative care for patients with hematologic malignancies. Her clinical trials and patient-centered research represent the spirit of safety, compassion, and innovation this award celebrates, noted ASCO in a statement. The award is named in honor of Joseph V. Simone, MD, Director, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital from 1983–1992. Dr. Simone helped lead the first curative treatment for childhood leukemia. He died onJanuary 21, 2021, at the age of 85.
Dartmouth Cancer Center has appointed James B. Yu, MD, MHS, FASTRO, Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Dartmouth Cancer Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. In this position, Dr. Yu will be responsible for executing the clinical research strategy of Dartmouth Cancer Center in collaboration with Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, Director of Dartmouth Cancer Center, and institutional leadership. Dr. Yu will also serve as a liaison between the Dartmouth Cancer Center Office of Clinical Research, Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and the Geisel School of Medicine.
Rami Manochakian, MD, FASCO, was appointed Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Manochakian is a thoracic oncologist in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Vice Chair-Education & Fellowship Program. He has specialized and developed an expertise in treating patients with thoracic malignancies including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and thymic tumors. Prior to joining Mayo Clinic, Dr. Manochakian was the Director of the Lung Cancer Program at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. Dr. Manochakian is a passionate educator and a leader in medical education. He serves in education and advisory roles on national and international medical societies including ASCO, the American Lung Association (ALA), and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center announced that Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH, has joined the Cancer Center as Director of Upper GI Medical Oncology, further expanding the center’s clinical and research programs for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Mehta joined NYU Langone from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, where she established an Upper GI Working Group to advance clinical and research collaboration. Previously, at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, she helped build its Upper GI Malignancies Program and developed a robust clinical trials portfolio that gave patients access to new treatment options.
Her research has included clinical trials evaluating targeted therapies, immunotherapies, antibody-drug conjugates, and cellular therapies for GI cancers. In addition to her expertise in HER2-positive gastroesophageal cancers, Dr. Mehta participated in the clinical development of zanidatamab-hrii, a HER2-targeted therapy.
David Tuveson, MD, PhD, will join Duke Health as Executive Director of the Duke Cancer Institute, effective October 31, 2026. Dr. Tuveson is currently the Roy J. Zuckerberg Professor of Cancer Research and Director of the Designated Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. He is also the chief scientist for the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. As Executive Director, Dr. Tuveson will lead the Duke Cancer Institute, an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center.
The Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN) has appointed Sarah Leary, MD, MS, as Co-Chair of its Executive Board. Serving alongside Co-Chair Brian Rood, MD, Associate Director, Brain Tumor Institute at Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC. Dr. Leary will help guide the network’s scientific priorities, institutional engagement, and continued growth as a global research community dedicated to improving outcomes for children with brain tumors. Dr. Leary succeeds Sabine Mueller, MD, PhD, who has completed her term as Co-Chair.
A pediatric neuro-oncologist and longtime CBTN investigator, Dr. Leary brings extensive experience in translational research, clinical trials, and international data sharing. She is an Attending Physician at Seattle Children’s, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and Medical Director of Clinical Research at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research.
The American Academy of Neurological Surgery (AANS) has announced Russell Lonser, MD, as the Academy President beginning October 2026. Dr. Lonser is Professor and Chair of Neurological Surgery at Ohio State, and he is a neurological surgeon who specializes in the resection of brain, spinal cord, pituitary and brainstem tumors. Dr. Lonser also holds the Sanford-Rife Family Chair in Neuro-Oncology and serves as Director of Ohio State’s Gene Therapy Institute. His research focuses on nervous system drug delivery, gene therapy, and tumor biology.
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