Honors and Awards | UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Recent Awards and Accomplishments

2024

Nearly 50 UC San Francisco researchers, including 21 Cancer Center Members, were named to Clarivate’s list of most influential scientists for 2024
Mitch Berger, MD, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO)
Atul Butte, MD, PhD, FACMI was awarded the Morris. F Collen Award of Excellence from the American Medical Informatics Association
Samuel Washington, MD, MAS received a 2024 PCF Young Investigator Award
Kevin Shannon, MD, was honored with the UCSF Liftetime Achievement in Mentoring Award
Nola M. Hylton, PhD, was elected into the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
Pavithra Viswanath, PhD, was awarded a Research Collaboration Grants from the American Brain Tumor Association
David Raleigh, MD, PhD, was awarded a Discovery Grant from the American Brain Tumor Association
Scarlett Lin Gomez, MD, PhD, was awarded the 2024 AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities
Mack Roach III, MD received a 2024 Gold Medal Award from the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
Elliot Stieglitz, MD, received a 2024 Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation Research Grant
Laura Esserman, MD, received the 2024 Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicin e from the American-Italian Cancer Foundation
Michael J. Evans, PhD, received the Sam Gambhir Trailblazer Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI)
Hope Rugo, MD, received the 2024 ESMO Breast Cancer Award
Michael Rabow, MD, was named Visionary in Hospice and Palliative Care by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM)
Kathy Giacomini, PhD, was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (AAA&S)
Neil P. Shah, MD, PhD, was awarded the 2024 Rowley Prize for exceptional lifetime achievements in advancing the understanding of the biology of CML
Ajay Maker, MD, FACS, FSSO has been appointed to the position of Surgeon in Chief for the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Nynikka Palmer, DrPH, MPH was elected vice president of research for the Academy of Communication in Healthcare.
Jaysón Davidson was named among the first cohort of Upstream Research Scholars
Philip T. Pauerstein, MD, PhD, with his sponsor Wendell A. Lim, PhD, received a Damon Runyon–St. Jude Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship
Alameda Health Systems Foundation, in collaboration with UCSF and Umoja Health, received a Gilead Toward Health Equity Oncology Grant (THE Oncology Grant)
Thomas Martin, MD received a grant of nearly $4.6 million from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to produce a CAR T cell therapy for multiple myeloma

2023

Eric J. Small, MD, elected American Society of Clinical Ongology (ASCO) president for 2025-26 Term
Scarlett Lin Gomez, MPH, PhD received the 2023 Christopher N.H. Jenkins Cancer Control Award from the Asian American Research Center on Health
Apurva Pandey, PhD, Sarah Hsu, MD, PhD, and Noah Younger, MD, PhD each received a 2023 PCF Young Investigator Award
Katie Lichter, MD and Henry Litt, MD each received 2023 Quality Care Symposium Merit Awards from the ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation.
Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the Society of Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Board
Susan Chang, MD, was named Editor-in-Chief of Neuro-Oncology , the Journal of the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO)
Rohit Bose, MD, PhD received an NIH Director's New Innovator Award from the NIH National Cancer Institute
Alexander Marson, MD, PhD was named among The 2023 PharmaVoice 100
Katherine Van Loon, MD, MPH received a #SheForShe certificate of recognition at the 2023 Women in Medicine Summit
Matthew Gubens, MD, MS was named an ASCO Fellow
Julia Carnevale, MD received a V Foundation Translational Research Award
Aram Lyu, PhD was named a 2023 Parker Scholar
Tom Martin, MD received the Brian G.M. Durie Outstanding Achievement Award at the IMWG Summit 2023
Kevan Shokat, PhD received the Vollum Award for Distinguished Accomplishment in Science and Technology from Reed College for his work on targeting KRAS
Lewis Lanier, PhD received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Immunologists
Tom Martin, MD received the Brian G.M. Durie Outstanding Achievement Award from the International Myeloma Foundation
Rebeca de Paiva Fróes Rocha, PhD was named a Pew Latin American Fellow in the Biomedical Sciences
Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS was honored with the ASCO 2023 Science of Oncology Award and Lecture
Emily Bergsland, MD was named an ASCO Fellow at the 2023 Annual Meeting
Ana I. Velázquez Mañana, MD MSc was named a 2022 Advocacy Champion by the American Society of Clinical Oncology
Henry VanBrocklin, PhD, FSNMMI, FSRS, received the 2023 Paul C. Aebersold Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI)
Margaret Tempero, MD was named among Icons in Oncology by the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence
Suresh Gunasekaran, MBA, president and CEO of UCSF Health, was named among the 2023 great healthcare leaders to know by Becker's Hospital Review.
Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS was awarded Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centerʻs C. Chester Stock Award Lectureship
Laura J. Esserman, MD, MBA, and Kevan Shokat, PhD, were named 2023 Fellows of the AACR Academy by the American Association for Cancer Research
William Chen, MD was named recipient of the 2023 ASCO Conquer Cancer Bradley Stuart Beller Endowed Merit Award
Anil Bidkar, PhD, receives DoD Early Investigator Research Award for Prostate Cancer Research
Ana Velázquez Mañana, MD MSc named by Healio among 5 women at forefront of oncology digital space
Kevan Shokat, PhD was named recipient of the Sjöberg Prize from the Swedish Academy of Sciences
Lewis Lanier, PhD, received the 2023 American Association of Immunologists Lifetime Achievement Award
Atul Butte, MD, PhD named 2022 fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Kevan Shokat, PhD received the 2023 National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery for pioneering breakthroughs in chemical biology to advance cancer therapy
Cheryl Ewing, MD, received the Haile T. Debas Academy of Medical Educators annual peer-nominated Excellence in Teaching Award for 2023
The Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center was named a top oncology hospital by Becker's Hospital Review

2022

Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA, FACS received the Bay Area 2022 UCSF Chancellor's Award for the Advancement of Women
Bridget Keenan, MD, PhD received an ImFLAME Young Investigator Award
Ron Balassian, MD received the The Yolanda Oertel Interventional Cytopathologist Award, Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology
Robert A. Hiatt, MD, PhD was named a 2022 Resident Scholar, Bellagio Center Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy
Ana Velázquez Mañana, MD, received the John A. Watson Scholar award at UCSF
Shawn Hervey-Jumper, MD, received the Weill Award for Clinician-Scientists in the Neurosciences
Marie Castellanos, MD, received the Award of Excellence for Panel Presentation at Pediatric Grand Rounds, Baylor College of Medicine
Ana Velázquez Mañana, MD, received a 2022 AACR Career Development Award to Further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical Cancer Research
Heather Greenwood, MD, was named a Fellow of the Society of Breast Imaging
Tung Nguyen, MD, named UCSF Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism (IDEA)
Meera Ragavan, MD, MPH, received a Conquer Cancer 2022 Quality Care Symposium Merit Award
Ana Velázquez Mañana, MD, received a Conquer Cancer 2022 Quality Care Symposium Merit Award
Matthew Spitzer, PhD Awarded an NIH R01 Grant to Study Immune Response to OED and OSCC
Iona Cheng, PhD, MPH, along with researchers from USC and UCI, received an R01 award for “Impact of Climate Change on Life Expectancy in a Multiethnic Population”
George F. Sawaya, MD and co-PI Michael J Silverberg, PhD (Kaiser) received a 5-year NCI grant for a study, "Comparative Effectiveness Research to Validate and Improve Cervical Cancer Screening (CERVICCS 2)."
Patrick Ha, MD, received an Exceptional Physician Award, UCSF Peggy Reynolds, PhD, MPH and co-PI Susan Neuhausen, PhD (City of Hope) received a NIEHS R01 grant for a study, "Environmental Chemical Body Burden and Prospective Breast Cancer Risk in the Cancer Prevention Study-3 Cohort."
Iona Cheng, PhD, MPH and co-PI Lani Park, PhD (University of Hawaii) received a NCI R01 grant for a study, "Understanding the role of structural racism on racial/ethnic inequities in lung cancer risk."
Erin Van Blarigan, ScD -- along with co-investigators June Chan, ScD, Stacey Kenfield, ScD, Sorbarikor Piawah, MD, and Adrian Aguilera, PhD -- received a R21 grant for a study, "Engaging diverse colorectal cancer survivors in the design of an adaptive text message-based intervention to improve diet quality."
Amar Nijagal, MD received a UC Cancer Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) Faculty Seed Grant for a project, "Dysregulated immune signals in the developing liver promote pediatric hepatoblastoma."
Patrick Ha, MD, received the Francis A. Sooy, MD Award for Clinical Excellence
Tadashi Manabe, MD, PhD and Erron Titus, MD, PhD were named Spring 2022 Damon Runyon Fellows by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.
Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA, FACS received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Thyroid Association.
Kenneth Hu, PhD was named a 2022 Parker Bridge Fellow by the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in partnership with the V Foundation for Cancer Research.
Mitch Berger, MD was appointed to the President’s Cancer Panel by President Joe Biden
Jennifer Puck, MD was recognized with the 2022 Pioneer Award at the 2022 Precision Medicine World Conference.
Melisa Wong, MD, MAS was awarded a grant through the DOM Cohort Initiative for a project, “Enhancing the Lung cancer in older adults: Treatment toxicity through the patient’s lens cohort study.”
Jolene Scarella, RN, Lauren Boreta, MD, and Paul Lindenfeld, MD received the Ernest H. Rosenbaum, MD, Commitment to Patient Care Award.
Keith Yamamoto, PhD elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Geoffrey Buckle, MPH, MD awarded a Global Oncology Young Investigator Award by Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation
Nina Shah, MD and Bridget Keenan, MD, PhD nominated as 2022 Women Leaders in Oncology
Li-Wen Huang, MD was named a 2022 Grunfeld Scholar by the San Francisco VA Health Care System
Patrick Ha, MD received the 2022 Francis A. Sooy, MD Award for Clinical Excellence
Steven Hetts, MD was named a Fellow of the American College of Radiology
Jungmin Lee, PhD received a 2022-2023 Research Fellowship Award from the National Cancer Center
Eric Small, MD, was named as a winner of the 10th annual Giants of Cancer Care® awards by OncLive®
Nola Hylton, PhD, received the 2022 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) Gold Medal for her foundational work in breast MR imaging
Scarlett Lin-Gomez, PhD, MPH, won the ASPO Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., Distinguished Achievement Award
Valerie Weaver, PhD, received the 2022 Shu Chien Achievement Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD and Dean Sheppard, MD were selected as 2021 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Hani Goodarzi, PhD, Davide Ruggero, PhD, Steven Altschuler, PhD, and Lani Wu, PhD received 2021 ASPIRE Awards by the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

2021

Kim Rhoads, MD, MS, MPH was honored with a 2021 Distinguished Citizens Award from the Commonwealth Club
Hani Goodarzi, PhD, received a 2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science
Atul Butte, MD, PhD was elected a fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology
Allan Balmain, PhD, FRS and team -- including UCSF co-investigators Kim Rhoads, MD, MS, MPH and Luke Gilbert, PhD -- were shortlisted for the 2021 Cancer Grand Challenges awards
Julian Hong, MD, MS received a 2021 Career Development Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation
Iwei Yeh MD, PhD received a Melanoma Research Alliance Established Investigator Award
Stephen Floor, PhD was selected to join the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences
David Oh, MD, PhD, with mentor Lawrence Fong, MD, received a 2021 Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award
Mitch Berger, MD received the 2021 Rosenblum Distinguished Service Award from the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors
Ana Velázquez Mañana, MD received the Rising Star Award at the 2021 LEAD Conference presented by Women Leaders in Oncology
Meng Wang, PhD received a Melanoma Research Alliance Dermatology Fellows Award
Daniah Beleford, MD, PhD is a recipient of the 2021-22 UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Award
Rahul Aggarwal, MD; Lawrence Fong, MD; Michael Evans, PhD; and Thomas Hope, MD received a Prostate Cancer Foundation Challenge Award
Rushika Perera, PhD received the Günter Blobel Early Career Award from the American Society for Cell Biology
Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD was one of three UCSF faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Allan Balmain, PhD, FRS was elected to the 2021 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy
Sophie Dumont, PhD will deliver the 2021 Byers Award Lecture in Basic Science
David Agard, PhD received the 2021 Stein & Moore Award from The Protein Society
James Lee, MD was named a Parker Bridge Fellow by the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy
Larry Fong, MD, received an Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the NCI
Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD was elected into the National Academy of Sciences
Ann Griffin, PhD, CTR received the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) 2020 Distinguished Member Award
Nola M. Hylton, PhD was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows, Class of 2021
Alessandro Villa, DDS, MPH, PhD was elected to the board of the International Society of Oral Oncology.
Alexander Marson, MD, PhD, and team received a grant of $11M over 5 years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Anahat Singh, MA, MS received the Top Program Poster Award at the 2021 American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Virtual Conference.
Bjoern Schwer, MD, PhD received a Carol and Gene Ludwig Award for Early Career Research from the Ludwig Family Foundation.
Catherine Smith, MD, with mentors Neil Shah, MD, PhD and Kevin Shannon, MD, received a 2021 Damon Runyon Continuation Grant.
Collin Blakely, MD, PhD, with mentor Trever Bivona, MD, PhD, received a 2021 Damon Runyon Continuation Grant.
Eric Collisson, MD; Jay Debnath, MD, PhD; Andrei Goga, MD, PhD; Sarah Knox, PhD; Jeroen Roose, PhD; and Valerie Weaver, PhD received an Endeavor Award from the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research.
Erin Van Blarigan, ScD, and team received a National Cancer Institute R01 grant.
Fangyu Liu, PhD received a Damon Runyon Fellowship Award.
Felix Feng, MD – along with Drs. Dan Robinson and Ajjai Alva from University of Michigan – received a 2020 Bristol-Myers Squibb-PCF Challenge Award.
Franklin Huang, MD, PhD; Alison Rustagi, MD, PhD; and Samuel Washington, MD, MAS were named 2021 Grunfeld Scholars by the San Francisco VA Health Care System.
Hala Borno, MD received a Forward for Health Equity Grant from Myovant.
Hala Borno, MD was named to the inaugural cohort of the Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program launched by the BMS Foundation.
Hani Goodarzi, PhD received a Transformative Cancer Research Grant from the AACR-MPM Oncology Charitable Foundation.
Haolong Li, PhD received a 2021 PCF Young Investigator Award.
Ivan de Kouchkovsky, MD received a 2021 PCF Young Investigator Award.
Peder Larson, PhD received the 2021 Faculty Recipient of UCSF Chancellor Award for Disability Service
Ivan de Kouchkovsky, MD; Swetha Kambhampati, MD; Daniel Kwon, MD; Erica Tsang, MD; and Evan Walker, MD each received a 2021 Young Investigator Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation.
A team of researchers and clinicians from UCSF and Northwestern -- led by Nicholas Butowski, MD and Roger Stupp, MD -- were selected to join the NCI-funded Glioblastoma Therapeutics Network (GTN).
Jennifer Rosenbluth, MD, PhD received a 2021 Clinical Scientist Development Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Julian Hong, MD, MS received a 2021 ASTRO-PCF Early Career Development Award to End Prostate Cancer.
Julian Hong, MD, MS was named the 2021 Publication Award Winner by the Radiation Oncology Institute.
Kelly Schoenbeck, MD received an ASH Research Training Award for Fellows for a second year.
Kevan Shokat, PhD received the first Breakthrough Science Award from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation.
Kevin M. Shannon, MD and D. Wade Clapp, MD (Indiana University) are co-principal investigators of an $11.4 million SPORE focused on new treatments for tumors that develop in neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), the most common inherited syndrome causing a predisposition to cancer.
Kim Rhoads, MD, MS, MPH received the 2021 Community Award from the Women's Cancer Resource Center.
Martin Sjöström, MD, PhD received a 2021 PCF Young Investigator Award.
Maya Vijayaraghavan, MD, MAS received the 2021 Women in Medicine Resilience Award at the recent Women in Medicine Summit.
Mazie Tsang, MD, MS; Ana Velázquez Mañana, MD; Evan Walker, MD; and Ivan de Kouchkovsky, MD each received a 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting Merit Award from the Conquer Cancer Foundation.
Nina Shah, MD was invited to participate in the 2021 People v. Cancer Summit presented by The Atlantic.
Ophir Klein, MD, PhD was elected as Vice President of the International Association of Dental Research (IADR).
Atul Butte, MD, PhD was appointed to the Advisory Committee to the Director, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
Pamela Ling, MD, MPH received the 2021 Harold S. Luft Mentoring Award from the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies at UCSF.
Sorbarikor Piawah, MD, MPH received a 2021 V Scholar Grant.
Sunny Wang, MD and James Brown, MD received a grant of $4.5 million over 5 years from the VA Office of Research and Development.
Led by Emily Bergsland, MD and Trever Bivona, MD, PhD, the Office of Education and Training was awarded an NCI K12 grant to establish the HDFCCC Paul Calabresi K12 Career Development Program in Clinical Oncology.
Urmimala Sarkar, MD received the Mid-Career Research Mentorship Award from the Society of General Internal Medicine.
Valerie Weaver, PhD received the 2022 Shu Chien Achievement Award from the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).
Vijay Ramani, PhD received an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award.
Yael Mossé, MD (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) -- along with UCSF team members Natalia Jura, PhD, Kliment Verba, PhD, and William Weiss, MD, PhD -- received a Crazy 8 Award from Alex's Lemonade Stand.
Zhen Jane Wang, MD and Peder Larson, PhD received an R01 from the NCI.

2020

Christine Miaskowski, RN, PhD, FAAN was awarded the 2020 Ada Sue Hinshaw Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR)
Steve Schroeder, MD was recognized by the Society for Research on Nicotine & Tobacco (SRNT) for his long-term contributions to tobacco control and disease prevention
Aleksandar Rajkovic, MD, PhD was elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Laura Esserman, MD, MBA and the UCSF Department of Surgery received a prestigious NIH T-32 training grant for Surgical Oncology
Mekhail Anwar, MD, PhD received an NIH New Innovator Award
Hiten Madhani, MD, PhD named 2020 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Jayanta Debnath, MD received the 2021 Outstanding Investigator Award from the American Society for Investigative Pathology.
Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, MAS, was named a 2020 ASTRO Fellow and as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology
Laura van’ t Veer, PhD, Hope Rugo, MD, and Margaret Tempero, MD were named among 2020 Class of Giants of Cancer Care by OncLive
Ana I. Velázquez Mañana, MD, MSC received a 2020 Exceptional Physician Award from UCSF Health
David Solomon, MD, PhD received the 2020 Ramzi S. Cotran Young Investigator Award from the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathologists
Valerie Weaver, PhD received an Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the National Cancer Institute
Fangyu Liu, PhD received a 2020 Damon Runyon Fellowship Award
Danica Fujimori, PhD received a Bowes Biomedical Investigator Award
Aaron Logan, MD, PhD received the UCSF Division of Hematology & Oncology 2020 Teaching Award
Nina Shah, MD received the UCSF Division of Hematology & Oncology 2020 Marc A. Shuman Mentoring Award
Vanessa Kennedy, MD received the UCSF Division of Hematology & Oncology 2020 Rachel Pearline Award
Kelly Schoenbeck, MD received a Research Training Award for Fellows from the American Society of Hematology
Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS, Trever Bivona, MD, PhD, and Hani Goodarzi, PhD received an Emerson Collective Cancer Research Award
Laura Esserman, MD, MBA received the Brinker Award for Scientific Distinction in Clinical Research from Susan G. Komen
Wendell Lim, PhD and Rushika Perera, PhD were each selected to receive Pancreatic Cancer Awards
Hala Borno, MD, Ana I. Velázquez Mañana, MD, MSC, and Niharika Dixit, MD each received a Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center Award
Pelin Cinar, MD, MS and Natalie Young, MD were each selected to receive a For the Benefit of Patients at PCMB Award
Chemtai Mungo, MD, MPH, Bridget Keenan, MD, PhD, and Rahul Banerjee, MD received a 2020 Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award
Diane Barber, PhD, John Gordan, MD, PhD, James Rubenstein, MD, PhD, and Matthew Stachler, MD, PhD were recipients of 2020 Catalyst Awards
Luke Gilbert, PhD, received the AAAS Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Award
Peter Carroll, MD, MPH received Whitmore Award From Society of Urologic Oncology
Hideho Okada, MD, MPH, received a Defeat DIPG, ChadTough Research Award for “Next-generation CAR T cell therapies for treatment of DIPG, utilizing sequential “prime-and-kill” circuits to achieve safe and effective tumor targeting”
Trever Bivona, MD, PhD and Christine Lovly, MD, PhD (Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center) received a two-year Research Collaboration Grant from ALK Positive and GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer.
Scarlett Lin Gomez, MPH, PhD, Iona Cheng, MPH, PhD, and Moon S. Chen, MPH, PhD (UC Davis) received a grant from the National Institutes of Minority Health and Health Disparities for their project, "Elucidating Lung Cancer Etiology Among Asian American Female Never Smokers."
Trever Bivona, MD, PhD and team received funding of $3.5M over 3 years from the National Cancer Institute for a cooperative project entitled, "Bay Area Team Against Resistance."
John Gordan, MD, PhD, in partnership with the Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation (FCF), will co-lead the Rare As One Project of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)

Previous Honors

Download our Awards Archive 2019-2011 (PDF).