AACR Announces Fellows of the AACR Academy Class of 2026

PHILADELPHIA – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) today announced its newly elected 2026 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy.

The Fellows of the AACR Academy was established to honor scientists, clinicians, and physician-scientists whose visionary work has reshaped the landscape of cancer research. These individuals have propelled major breakthroughs in cancer biology, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and together form a global community of thought leaders who are advancing the AACR’s mission to prevent and cure all cancers. As a collective, elected Fellows of the AACR Academy serve as a reservoir of expertise, supporting research, education, collaboration, communication, and advocacy for vital research funding that is necessary to accelerate progress and improve patient care.

Election as a Fellow of the AACR Academy is achieved through a rigorous, peer-review process designed to evaluate and recognize only those individuals whose scientific accomplishments have left an enduring mark on cancer research. Each candidate is assessed on the depth and global impact of their work, ensuring that induction remains one of the highest honors bestowed by the AACR.

“This year, we are extremely excited to announce the election of 24 new Fellows of the AACR Academy who embody the pinnacle of scientific excellence. Together, these individuals from around the globe, specializing in various scientific disciplines, have fundamentally shaped cancer research and improved patient outcomes.” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. “We are deeply honored to induct this newly elected class of 2026 Fellows into the AACR Academy, which currently includes 375 honorees, and we look forward to celebrating their monumental scientific achievements at our upcoming Annual Meeting in April.”

The newly elected members of the 2026 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy are:

Cory Abate-Shen, PhD

Robert Sonneborn Professor of Medicine; Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Urology, and Systems Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York

For pioneering research using genetically engineered mouse models to illuminate fundamental drivers of tumorigenesis, including her seminal delineation of the integrated Pten-Pik3ca-p53-Ras signaling axis in prostate cancer, generating invaluable tools that provide essential platforms for preclinical therapeutic and prevention studies.

Alberto Bardelli, PhD

Full Professor, Department of Oncology, University of Turin; Scientific Director, IFOM ETS – The AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan, Italy

For fundamental contributions to precision cancer medicine through pioneering liquid biopsy research in colorectal cancer, uncovering the molecular mechanisms that govern response and resistance to EGFR and HER2 inhibition, and revealing treatment escape driven by increased tumor mutability.

Benjamin F. Cravatt, PhD

Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology; Professor, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research, La Jolla, California

For cutting-edge research in activity-based protein profiling that established foundational chemical and proteomic technologies to map functional enzyme activity, uncovering oncogenic lipid-signaling pathways, revealing previously inaccessible therapeutic targets, and advancing both cancer diagnosis and the evolution of mechanism-based treatments.

Christina Curtis, PhD, MSc

RZ Cao Professor of Medicine, Genetics, and Biomedical Data Science; Senior Vice Chair of Research, Department of Medicine, Stanford School of Medicine; Director, Artificial Intelligence and Cancer Genomics, Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, California; Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator

For transformative discoveries applying computational and systems biology to breast and gastrointestinal cancers, integrating multi-omic and phylogenetic frameworks to uncover copy number-driven subgroups, resolve tumor evolutionary trajectories, and develop biomarkers to refine risk stratification and therapeutic response prediction.

Douglas T. Fearon, MD

Professor; Cancer Center Member, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York

For championing research that revealed how complement C3 marking of microbial antigens enhances B-cell activation through the CR2/CD19 receptor complex and is counterbalanced by CD22, establishing foundational evidence that innate signaling directs and shapes adaptive immunity.

Giulio F. Draetta, MD, PhD

Former Senior Vice President; Chief Scientific Officer; Cancer Center Director, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

For paramount advancements in cyclin-dependent kinase biology, revealing the mechanisms of CDK activation, the cyclin-CDK-E2F signaling pathway mechanisms responsible for S-phase entry, and the proteasomal pathways governing cell-cycle progression that now underpin several targeted cancer therapies.

Rebecca C. Fitzgerald, MACantab, MD

Professor of Cancer Prevention; Director, Early Cancer Institute; Director, Early Detection Institute; Head, Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge; Honorary Consultant in Gastroenterology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Research Lead, Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom

For unparalleled contributions to uncovering the molecular pathogenesis of esophageal adenocarcinoma and for pioneering minimally invasive cancer diagnostics through the development of the Cytosponge-TFF3, the first non-endoscopic test for Barrett’s esophagus, which has demonstrated over tenfold greater sensitivity in large-scale trials and transformed early detection by offering a practical, cost-effective alternative to endoscopy.

Sir Stephen P. Jackson, PhD

Senior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute; Frederick James Quick Professor of Biology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

For revered contributions to defining cellular DNA damage responses (DDR), including the discovery of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) and the core machinery of non-homologous end joining as well as for elucidating how ATM and ATR kinases and key post-translational modifications preserve genome stability, work which has since led to the development of DDR inhibitors for patient care.

Lewis L. Lanier, PhD

J. Michael Bishop, MD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California

For foundational advances in deciphering how natural killer (NK) cells discriminate between healthy and abnormal cells, including the characterization of key activating and inhibitory receptors, their cognate ligands, and the signaling pathways that govern NK-cell activation, tolerance, and antitumor immunity.

Anthony G. Letai, MD, PhD

Director, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

For profound insights into apoptosis and its dysregulation in cancer, including uncovering BCL-2-mediated anti-apoptotic mechanisms, advancing pro-apoptotic therapies, and developing BH3 profiling to quantify mitochondrial priming and predict therapeutic response, an innovation that has fundamentally reshaped the design and clinical deployment of apoptosis-directed cancer treatments, including venetoclax.

Ross L. Levine, MD

Chief Scientific Officer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

For groundbreaking contributions to characterizing the molecular biology of clonal hematopoiesis and myeloid malignancies, including discovering key driver mutations, delineating the role of signaling pathways such as the JAK-STAT pathway in oncogenesis, and investigating epigenetic mechanisms that influence myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) progression.

Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD

Professor of Medicine; Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Arizona College of Medicine; Research Member, Cancer Biology Program; Associate Director for Basic Sciences, University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, Arizona

For illuminating contributions to gastric cancer biology, including uncovering how chronic inflammation and Helicobacter pylori-driven Gli1⁺ immune cell recruitment drives immune-suppressive metaplasia, and for defining mechanistic insights into menin loss and ZBP-89-mediated serotonin signaling that have advanced the understanding of neuroendocrine tumorigenesis and epithelial transformation.

William G. Nelson, MD, PhD, DSc

Director, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins; Marion I. Knott Director and Professor of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

For celebrated research centered on epigenetic gene silencing in prostate cancer, including the discovery of glutathione S-transferase P1 gene (GSTP1) promoter CpG island hypermethylation, the most common somatic alteration in prostate cancer, thereby establishing a molecular rationale for biomarker development that has led to transformative diagnostic advances in prostate cancer detection, stratification, prevention, and treatment.

Garry P. Nolan, PhD

Rachford and Carlota A. Harris Professor, Department of Pathology, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, California

For stellar contributions to the understanding of the cellular and molecular architecture of the immune system and cancer, and for pioneering the use of high-dimensional single-cell technologies, such as CyTOF, MIBI, and CODEX, and for integrating genomics with computational systems immunology to characterize hematopoiesis, leukemogenesis, autoimmunity, and tumor-immune interactions.

Kenneth Offit, MD, MPH

Chief, Clinical Genetics Service; Robert and Kate Niehaus Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics; Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York

For trailblazing research involving hereditary cancer genetics, including the discovery of BRCA2 mutations in Ashkenazi Jewish populations, which led to the first genome-wide association study linking BRCA2 modifiers to breast cancer risk, and for further characterizing recurrent PAX5, APC, BLM, and MSH2 gene mutations in leukemia, breast, colon, and other cancers, thereby shaping current approaches to inherited cancer risk stratification, prevention, and early detection.

Pamela S. Ohashi, PhD

Senior Scientist, UHN’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre; Research Director, Tumor Immunology Program, Professor, Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

For instrumental insights into the molecular regulation of CD8⁺ T-cell activation, differentiation, and peripheral tolerance; elucidating dendritic cell antigen presentation and costimulatory signaling; and defining how the tumor microenvironment modulates antitumor immunity and immune dysfunction, subsequently informing novel immunotherapy strategies actively being assessed in clinical trials.

Charles W. M. Roberts, MD, PhD

Executive Vice President and Director, St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center; Member, Department of Oncology; Lillian R. Cannon Comprehensive Cancer Center Director Endowed Chair, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee

For invaluable contributions to pediatric cancer research, including discovering tumor-suppressive roles of SMARCB1/SNF5 in malignant rhabdoid tumors, mechanistic definition of SWI/SNF mutations in enhancer dysregulation and aberrant lineage specification, and identifying targeted dependencies and synthetic vulnerabilities in SWI/SNF-mutant cancers.

Anil K. Rustgi, MD

Herbert and Florence Irving Director, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center; Herbert and Florence Irving Professor of Medicine, Associate Dean of Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons; Chief of the Cancer Service, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York

For exemplary research dedicated to deciphering the molecular drivers of gastrointestinal cancers, including revealing cyclin D1’s oncogenic role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, uncovering p120 catenin as a tumor suppressor and regulator of epithelial plasticity, and elucidating p53-driven mechanisms of tumor metastasis that have since informed the development of pioneering mouse and organoid cancer models.

Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD

Chair, Department of Medical Oncology; Chief of Strategic Partnerships, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

For pioneering translational and clinical cancer research that has led to the development of numerous next-generation targeted therapies, as well as the clinical evaluation of novel mechanistic combination strategies that have guided the field of precision oncology and transformed clinical practice.

Yosef Shiloh, PhD

Principal Investigator, The David and Inez Myers Laboratory for Cancer Genetics, Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

For seminal contributions to understanding the DNA damage response and etiology of the genome instability disorder ataxia-telangiectasia, including the discovery of the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) serine/threonine kinase and the elucidation of the central role of ATM in maintaining genome integrity.

Kimberly Stegmaier, MD

Chair, Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; David G. Nathan Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; Associate Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital; Institute Member, Broad Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

For fundamental and innovative research in pediatric oncology, including the integration of functional genomics and chemical biology to define fusion gene-driven oncogenic mechanisms, systematically mapping context-specific dependencies, and translating these discoveries into multi-institutional clinical trials to establish new precision cancer therapies for children with cancer.

Matthew Vander Heiden, MD, PhD

Director, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Lester Wolfe (1919) Professor of Molecular Biology; Professor of Biology, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

For remarkable research contributions to uncovering fundamental metabolic pathways in cancer onset and progression, including characterizing the tumor-specific use of glycolysis and amino acid metabolism, Ras-driven macropinocytosis, and the oncogenic role of 2-hydroxyglutarate, which has informed innovative strategies for early cancer detection, targeted therapy, and precision oncology.

Jennifer A. Wargo, MD

R. Lee Clark Endowed Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery; Professor, Department of Genomic Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine; Core Member, James P. Allison Institute, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

For vital contributions to defining the interplay between the microbiome, oncogenic signaling, and tumor immunity, including the elucidation of microbiome-mediated determinants of immunotherapy response, mechanisms of targeted therapy resistance in melanoma, and the identification of immune biomarkers capable of predicting clinical outcomes.

Laurence Zitvogel, MD, PhD

Professor, Gustave Roussy/Inserm/Université Paris-Saclay, Paris, France

For revered contributions to demonstrating how microbiome composition and innate immunity shape clinical outcomes following immunotherapy, including microbial predictors of PD-1 response, exosome-based vaccine strategies, and mechanisms of immunogenic cell death as well as biomarkers to guide checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in melanoma.