Distinguished Scientist Award

Recognizing Scientific Excellence

The AACI Distinguished Scientist Award was created in 2002 to recognize a major contributor to the field of cancer research. 

Selected by the AACI Board of Directors from a slate of candidates nominated by AACI members, the awardee should be widely known in the cancer community through their research accomplishments. 

Past AACI Distinguished Scientist honorees include Drs. Thomas F. Gajewski; Paula D. Bos; Patricia LoRusso; Elizabeth M. Jaffee; Judy E. Garber; William G. Kaelin, Jr.; Douglas R. Lowy; Charles Perou; Carl June; James Allison; and Lewis Cantley.

  • All faculty and staff at AACI member cancer centers are eligible to submit nominations

  • Eligible nominees will be considered based on satisfactory completion of the nomination form, which should include a detailed description of how the nominee has made an enduring impact on the progress of cancer research or patient care

The AACI Distinguished Scientist Award will be presented in October during the 2026 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Chicago. The awardee will be invited to deliver a keynote presentation to meeting attendees. 

Previous nominations may be resubmitted for consideration. In the event that there is no nomination or no nominee meets the award criteria, no award will be made for that cycle. 

February 2, 2026
Call for nominations announced to AACI members

February 23, 2026
Nominations due for all AACI awards

March 6, 2026
Board of Directors to vote on award recipients

March 24, 2026
Notify award recipients by email

April 7, 2026
Deadline for awardee to acknowledge/accept award nomination

April 24, 2026
Deadline for awardee to submit bio and headshot to AACI


Summer 2026
Award recipients announced

October 2026
Award presented during the 2026 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Chicago

Please note: all dates are subject to change.