“Making a difference in global oncology means framing positive system changes. To me, Dr. Khalid El Bairi is among the global cancer researchers I know who so far has made the largest achievements.

“Since the very first interaction with Khalid, what I have captured is passion for the community he serves and commitment to deliver real tangible impact for people. Khalid has developed projects for which we now have a portrait of the status of oncology in Africa, by assessing the situation in term of participation to cancer research in the region, the gender balance, the education in research methodology, and recently on the common perception of conflict of interest. (He presented the results to this project at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting.) In addition, he is a key player in the regional society AORTIC [African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer], works with ASCO and the European Society for Medical Oncology [ESMO], and is recognized as an innovator.

“Khalid and I have further common ground, where we share a passion for coffee and a habit for limited sleeping hours—both to be discouraged when they become excessive. We are working on tackling these excesses; that’s why our project discussions happen overnight and why we don’t fear jet lag!”