John M. Carethers, MD, FAACR, Recognized with 2025 AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities

BALTIMORE – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will award John M. Carethers, MD, FAACR, with the 2025 AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities during the 18th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, to be held in Baltimore from September 18-21.

This special AACR award recognizes an investigator whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of cancer health disparities.

Carethers is vice chancellor for health sciences, distinguished professor of medicine, and adjunct professor of public health at University of California San Diego. He is being honored for his seminal contributions to the understanding and reduction of cancer disparities in colorectal cancer patients, resulting in improved clinical outcomes. Notably, Carethers identified a higher prevalence of elevated microsatellite alterations at selected tetranucleotide repeats, a form of microsatellite instability linked to poor outcomes, in rectal tumors from African American patients.

This research finding has since advanced global precision medicine, informed early screening recommendations, and shaped national policies to promote equitable cancer prevention and patient care.

In 2015, Carethers wrote a landmark paper that outlined the determinants and rationale for earlier colorectal cancer screening among African Americans. Two years later, this work prompted the U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer Screening to recommend that African Americans should initiate colorectal cancer screening at the age of 45.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and considering the rising incidence of various early-onset cancers, Carethers has focused on advocating for increasing screening for colorectal cancer across various patient populations, especially those who are underserved. In this regard, his ongoing research is dedicated to identifying genetic biomarkers that may predict early-onset colorectal cancer, metastatic potential, and anticipated patient outcomes.

In addition to his remarkable accomplishments as a dedicated physician-scientist, Carethers is a stalwart advocate for practical policy solutions that can help reduce colorectal cancer disparities. While president of the American Gastroenterological Association, he led discussions with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that resulted in changes to improve the accessibility and cost of confirmatory colonoscopies for patients who had received a positive noninvasive screening test. Throughout his career, he has also demonstrated a deep commitment to training the next generation of cancer researchers and to fostering meaningful collaborations amongst his peers.

Carethers has been an AACR member since 1995, was elected a Fellow of the AACR Academy in 2024, and has been serving as a member of the AACR Board of Directors since 2023. In recognition of his scientific achievements, he was awarded the AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship in 2019. Carethers has helped shape many of the AACR’s initiatives through his expert guidance. He has served as a member of numerous AACR award selection committees, including the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research Committee (2024-2025), the AACR Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research Committee (2023-2024), the AACR Laboratory Research Awards Committee (2014-2016), the AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship Committee (2015-2016), and the AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Cancer Research Committee (2014-2016). He also served as chair (2016-2017) and member (2015-2016) of the AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities Committee. Additionally, he has served on several of the AACR’s scientific review committees, including as a member of the AACR Cancer Discovery Early Career Award Committee (2024), chair (2019-2020) and member (2017-2019) of the AACR NextGen Grants for Transformative Cancer Research Scientific Review Committee, and cochair of the AACR Minority and Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Awards (2014-2019). Further, he has made invaluable contributions to past AACR meetings including serving as cochair of the AACR Annual Meeting Education (2024, 2017) and AACR Annual Meeting Program (2024, 2019) Committees, member of the AACR Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer Program Committee (2020), and member of the AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities Program Committee (2014).

Carethers has advised on key aspects of the AACR’s organizational committees through his membership on the Fellows of the AACR Academy Steering Committee and AACR Finance and Audit Committee (2024-present), the AACR Science Education and Career Advancement Committee (2018-2024), and the AACR COVID-19 and Cancer Task Force (2020-2021). Further, he has served as a cochair of the AACR Task Force on Racial Inequalities in Cancer Research (2020), and past chair (2018-2019), chair (2017-2018), chair-elect (2016-2017), and member (2013-2016) of the AACR Minorities in Cancer Research Council.

Carethers has guided the development of several of the AACR’s publications over the years, having served as a member of the steering committee for the AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report (2022, 2020), AACR Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Research and Patient Care (2021), and the AACR Cancer Progress Report (2018).

Carethers has been honored with numerous awards throughout his career, including the Alumni Society Distinguished Basic Science Research Award (2021), the John G. Kral, MD, PhD, Distinguished Mentor Award (2020), and the Making a Difference Award (2018) from the University of Michigan; the Distinguished Alumni Award (2015) and the Ambassador Award (2014) from the Wayne State University School of Medicine; and the Excellence in Mentoring Award (2006), Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award (2004), and the Graduating House Staff Teaching Award (1999) from University of California San Diego. He has also received the Downstate Health Sciences University Cancer Health Disparities Symposium Recognition Award (2025), the American College of Physicians Harriet P. Dustan Award (2021), the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancers Lifetime Achievement Award (2019), the Association of Professors of Medicine Robert H. Williams, MD, Distinguished Chair of Medicine Award (2019), the Francis Gilman Blake Award (2019), the American Gastroenterological Association Distinguished Mentor Award (2017), and the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Physicians Laureate Award (2014). Carethers has also held a place on Michigan Magazine’s list of Top Doctors (2021), Cell Mentor’s list of 1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America (2020), and the Best Doctors in America (2013).

In addition to his fellowship with the AACR, Carethers is an elected member of the Society of Medical Administrators (2024), fellow of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited GastrointestinalCancer (2022), fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London (2021), member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2016), mastership (2016) and fellow (1999) of the American College of Physicians (2016), fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (2015), member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association (2014), fellow of the National Academy of Medicine (2012), member of the Association of American Physicians (2011), member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (2008), fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association (2006), and fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology (2001).

He served as vice president (2023-2024) of the American Clinical and Climatological Association and as president of the American Gastroenterological Association (2022-2023) and the Association of American Physicians (2018-2019), respectively.

Carethers received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Wayne State University. His award lecture will be held during the Opening Session of the conference, which will take place on Thursday, September 18, from 4-6 p.m. ET.

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