AACR Announces 2024 Scientific Achievement Award Recipients

February 27, 2024

Awardees to be recognized at the AACR Annual Meeting 2024 in San Diego

PHILADELPHIA – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will honor the following cancer researchers and physician-scientists during the AACR Annual Meeting 2024, to be held April 5-10 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.

AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research: Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, FAACR (Photo)

This award honors an individual who has made significant fundamental contributions to cancer research, either through a single scientific discovery or a body of work. These contributions, whether in research, leadership, or mentorship, must have had a lasting impact on the cancer field and must have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to progress against cancer.

Rosenberg, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is senior investigator in the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI); chief of the NCI Surgery Branch; head of the Tumor Immunology Section; and professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is being recognized for lifelong scientific achievements and paramount contributions to cancer research and patient care, most notably his pioneering research that established interleukin-2 (IL-2) as the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved cancer immunotherapy and his major contributions to establishing fundamental principles involving cellular and genetic engineering and immunotherapeutic development.

Rosenberg’s award lecture will be held on Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. PT.

AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Basic Cancer Research: Sarah-Maria Fendt, PhD (Photo)

This award recognizes an early-career investigator for meritorious achievements in basic cancer research.

Fendt is a principal investigator at the VIB Center for Cancer Biology and professor of oncology at KU Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. She is being recognized for seminal contributions to deciphering the role of metabolic rewiring during cancer invasion and metastasis and for defining the principles of metabolic regulation that enable cancer cell plasticity and heterogeneity. Fendt has described novel functions of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH) in the initiation of cancer metastasis and discovered that lipid-rich environments promote metastasis by activating signaling pathways that subsequently drive metastatic outgrowth.

Fendt’s award lecture will be held on Monday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. PT.

AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Blood Cancer Research: Owen N. Witte, MD, FAACR (Photo)

This award, supported by AbbVie, recognizes an individual on the basis of their meritorious achievements and contributions to any aspect of blood cancer research.

Witte, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is the President’s Chair in developmental immunology; University Professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, and molecular and medical pharmacology; director emeritus of the Eli & Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research; and member of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Los Angeles. He is being recognized for his unprecedented contributions to elucidating the role of tyrosine kinases in hematologic malignancies and for his pivotal role in developing novel cancer treatments. He was the first to identify the ABL fusion oncoprotein in leukemia and to predict that mutated ABL kinase could serve as a viable drug target, which would, in turn, lead to the development of imatinib as a frontline therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia. He later described Bruton’s tyrosine kinases (BTK) as key drivers of antigen-activated lymphomas and autoimmune disease, a breakthrough discovery that would result in the clinical development of the FDA-approved BTK inhibitor, ibrutinib, for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma.

Witte’s award lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 9, at 4:30 p.m. PT.

AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research: Nathanael S. Gray, PhD, FAACR (Photo)

This award is presented for outstanding, novel, and significant chemistry research that has led to important contributions in basic cancer research, translational cancer research, cancer diagnosis, the prevention of cancer, or the treatment of patients with cancer.

Gray, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is the Krishnan-Shah Family Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford University in Stanford, California. He is being recognized for pioneering innovative structure-based chemical biology approaches to designing and developing protein inhibitors and degraders that have revolutionized the future of cancer therapeutics, and for spearheading novel combinatorial chemistry and genomic approaches that have resulted in the development of several cancer therapies, including ceritinib, osimertinib, and purvalanol.

Gray’s award lecture will be held on Monday, April 8, at 5 p.m. PT.

AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research: Anil K. Rustgi, MD (Photo)

This award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the education and training of cancer scientists and physicians at any career level and in any area of cancer research.

Rustgi is the Herbert and Florence Irving Director of the Columbia University Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center; Herbert and Florence Irving Professor of Medicine and associate dean of oncology at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons; and chief of cancer services at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, New York. He is being recognized for his remarkable leadership and selfless efforts to support the education and training of countless undergraduate, graduate, medical, and doctoral students; clinical residents and fellows; postdoctoral fellows; and faculty members who have subsequently translated Rustgi’s tutelage into establishing their own successful careers throughout the cancer research community.

Rustgi’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. PT.

AACR Distinguished Public Service Awards

These awards recognize individuals whose extraordinary work has exemplified the AACR’s mission to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy, advocacy, and funding for cancer research.

AACR Distinguished Public Service Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research: Franco Cavalli, MD (Photo)

Cavalli is president of the Foundation for the Institute of Oncology Research, which manages the Institute of Oncology Research located in Bellinzona, Switzerland; the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML); and the International Extranodal Lymphoma Study Group. He is also the past president of the Union for International Cancer Control, past chairman of the Scientific Committee of the European School of Oncology, and president of the World Oncology Forum. He is being recognized for his longstanding scientific accomplishments in the breast cancer, leukemia, and lymphoma fields, as well as for clinical investigations involving VP16 and contributions to the development of therapeutics, including cisplatin, carboplatin, and paclitaxel. Additionally, he is being honored for his leadership and visionary commitment to improving global cancer research and health through novel and innovative mechanisms, including his organization of the biennial ICML, the world’s premier lymphoma conference. He is also being recognized for his dedication to improving pediatric oncology research and care in Central America.

Cavalli’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 4:15 p.m. PT.

AACR Distinguished Public Service Award: Worta McCaskill-Stevens, MD (Photo)

McCaskill-Stevens former chief of the NCI Community Oncology and Prevention Trials Research Group and former director of the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), is being recognized and celebrated posthumously for her enormous contributions to cancer research, most notably cancer disparities and health equity research, as well as her relentless support of cancer clinical trials conducted in community hospitals and practices across the country, efforts that were made possible through her unparalleled leadership of NCORP. Through her NCORP-associated efforts and personal passion for delivering care to vulnerable patient populations, McCaskill-Stevens spearheaded the inclusion and support of countless minority and underserved cancer patients in cutting-edge clinical trials throughout her career. Additionally, she has been widely revered for her lifelong commitment to ensuring that such patient populations receive the highest quality cancer health education, prevention, and treatment strategies. Further, this award is intended to honor McCaskill-Stevens’ unwavering mentorship of hundreds of students and early-stage investigators who are now continuing her legacy in the cancer research community.

Cavalli and McCaskill-Stevens will be honored during the AACR Annual Meeting 2024 Opening Ceremony on Sunday, April 7, at 8 a.m. PT.

AACR James S. Ewing-Thelma B. Dunn Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pathology in Cancer Research: Christopher D.M. Fletcher, MD (Photo)

This award, named for the AACR’s first President, James S. Ewing, MD, and the AACR’s first female President, Thelma B. Dunn, MD, both of whom were pathologists, serves to recognize and celebrate pathologists who have significantly contributed to advancing cancer research, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Fletcher is a professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School; emeritus chief of onco-pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and emeritus vice chair of anatomic pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is being recognized for breakthrough discoveries that have led to the molecular characterization of soft tissue tumors and for transforming the cancer pathology field by providing expert insights into tumor diagnosis and clinical prognosis. Fletcher was the first to integrate morphological aspects of soft tissues with the characterization of genetic insults leading to the definition of more than 40 distinct molecular and morphological characteristics capable of classifying mesenchymal neoplasms. These categorized molecular signatures have since contributed to the establishment of innovative therapies for cancer patients worldwide.

Fletcher’s award lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 9, at 4 p.m. PT.

AACR-Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research: Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, FAACR (Photo)

This award recognizes a true champion of cancer research whose leadership and extraordinary achievements in cancer research have had a major impact on the field. Such achievements may include contributions to the acceleration of progress against cancer, raising national or international awareness of the importance of cancer research, or other ways of demonstrating a sustained extraordinary commitment to cancer research.

Dang, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is the scientific director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Cancer Medicine at Johns Hopkins; professor of oncology and cell biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. He also serves as an adjunct professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is being recognized for seminal contributions to elucidating the function of the MYC oncogene in regulating anabolic metabolism necessary for cell growth and proliferation. He is celebrated as the first scientist to conceptualize and demonstrate that genetic alterations in key oncogenes can lead to tumor metabolism reprogramming, which subsequently led to efforts to target cancer metabolism as a viable cancer therapeutic option. His discoveries have significantly impacted the acceleration of progress in cancer research, and his leadership and commitment to mentorship have fostered the careers of countless early-stage investigators in the cancer biology and metabolism fields.

Dang’s award lecture will be held on Monday, April 8, at 4:45 p.m. PT.

AACR Team Science Award: Team Womb Collective

This award, supported by Loxo@Lilly, recognizes an outstanding interdisciplinary research team for its innovative and meritorious science that has advanced or likely will advance our fundamental knowledge of cancer, or a team that has applied existing knowledge to advance the detection, diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of cancer.

The Team Womb Collective is being recognized for its significant collaborative contributions to deciphering the molecular basis of Lynch syndrome-associated endometrial cancer. As an interdisciplinary team of academics and healthcare professionals from across the medical, oncology, pathology, health economics, and behavioral science fields, the Team Womb Collective has demonstrated that 3% of endometrial cancers are caused by Lynch syndrome. The team has brilliantly demonstrated that immunohistochemistry-based approaches to detecting DNA mismatch repair protein deficiencies represent a cost-effective method for detecting Lynch syndrome, work that has led to fundamental changes to endometrial cancer prevention strategies and clinical practice guidelines.

The team members include:

Emma Crosbie, BSc, MBChB, PhD, Team Leader (Photo)
James Bolton, MA, BMBCh
D. Gareth Evans, MBBS, MD
Louise Gorman, MSc, PhD
Raymond McMahon, MBBCh, BAO, BSc, MD
Rhona McVey, BSc, MBChB
Nadira Narine, MSc
Katherine Payne, BPharm, MSc, PhD
Durgesh N. Rana, MBBS, MD
Neil Ryan, MBChB, PhD

The team will be honored during the AACR Annual Meeting 2024 Opening Ceremony on Sunday, April 7, at 8 a.m. PT.

AACR-American Cancer Society Award for Research Excellence in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention: Timothy R. Rebbeck, PhD, FAACR (Photo)

This award, supported by the American Cancer Society, recognizes outstanding research accomplishments in cancer epidemiology, biomarkers, and prevention.

Rebbeck, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is the Vincent L. Gregory, Jr. Professor of Cancer Prevention and director of the Zhu Family Center for Global Cancer Prevention at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Center for Global Health Equity at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. He is being recognized for groundbreaking contributions to optimizing standards of cancer prevention in clinical practice and to reducing cancer mortality by characterizing the role of BRCA1/2 mutations in high-risk breast and ovarian cancer populations, and by quantifying prostate cancer risk in the global African diaspora using clinical patient data, conglomerate genotypes, and tumor biomarkers.

Rebbeck’s award lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 9, at 3 p.m. PT.

AACR-Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology: Gordon J. Freeman, PhD, FAACR (Photo)

This award, supported by the Cancer Research Institute, recognizes an active scientist whose outstanding and innovative research has had a major impact on the cancer field and has the potential to stimulate new directions in cancer immunology.

Freeman, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is a professor of medicine in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He is being recognized for groundbreaking contributions to the discovery of the T-cell programmed death-1 receptor (PD-1) signaling pathway and the PD-1 ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2; for spotlighting the involvement of this pathway in tumor evasion of immunosurveillance; and for demonstrating that blocking this pathway could provoke an antitumor immune response. His extraordinary work has led to the development of immunotherapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases, and transplant rejection.

Freeman’s award lecture will be held on Monday, April 8, at 5 p.m. PT.

AACR-G.H.A. Clowes Award for Outstanding Basic Cancer Research: David Pellman, MD, FAACR (Photo)

This award, supported by Loxo@Lilly, is intended to recognize an individual who has made outstanding recent accomplishments in basic cancer research.

Pellman, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is the Margaret M. Dyson Professor in Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; professor of cell biology at Harvard Medical School; investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and associate director for basic science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard Cancer Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He is being recognized for pioneering work identifying mechanisms responsible for the structural and numerical chromosome aberrations in cancer. Through the development of innovative murine models, Pellman demonstrated that whole genome duplication, now known to occur in approximately 40% of human cancers, has the potential to accelerate the somatic evolution of cancer. He also identified a mechanism explaining chromothripsis, a massive form of chromosome rearrangement that is also common in cancer. Using in-house developed methodology to combine long-term, live-cell imaging with single-cell whole genome sequencing, his group has recreated chromothripsis in the laboratory, demonstrating that it can arise from cancer-associated aberrations of the nucleus called micronuclei, thereby contributing to the mechanistic understanding of cancer genome instability.

Pellman’s award lecture will be held on Monday, April 8, at 5:30 p.m. PT.

AACR-Irving Weinstein Foundation Distinguished Lectureship: Rafi Ahmed, PhD (Photo)

This award, supported by the Irving Weinstein Foundation, acknowledges an individual whose outstanding personal innovation in science and whose position as a thought leader in fields relevant to cancer research has the potential to inspire creative thinking and new directions in cancer research. The recipient is selected by the AACR President.

Ahmed is director of the Emory Vaccine Center; a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar; the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Emory University School of Medicine; an investigator in the Emory Center for AIDS Research (CFAR); and a member of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is being recognized for unparalleled scientific contributions to immunology and vaccinology, including the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of T-cell exhaustion and T-cell memory formation and differentiation following antigen exposure. He is also being honored for his seminal demonstration that persistent viral exposure can result in PD-1-mediated T-cell exhaustion, and that anti-PD-1 antibodies are able to rescue normal T-cell function. His pioneering research has since been expanded to countless studies within the cancer research field dedicated to determining the cellular mechanisms by which T cells function. It has served as a vital catalyst to the ongoing emergence of immune-based therapies for the treatment of patients with cancer and various chronic diseases worldwide.

Ahmed’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 12:45 p.m. PT.

AACR-Joseph H. Burchenal Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Cancer Research: Joseph A. Sparano, MD (Photo)

This award, supported by Bristol Myers Squibb, recognizes outstanding achievements in clinical cancer research.

Sparano is the Ezra M. Greenspan, MD Professor in Clinical Cancer Therapeutics; chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and deputy director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, New York. He is being recognized for leading some of the most impactful, practice-changing studies in breast cancer and HIV-associated cancers, uncovering factors contributing to racial disparities in breast cancer, and overseeing cancer treatment and prevention research in vulnerable populations with HIV infection. Sparano led the landmark TAILORx clinical trial that transformed the standard of care for women with early-stage ER-positive, HER-2 negative, node-negative breast cancer, which accounts for nearly half of all breast cancers in the United States. The NCI-funded TAILORx trial established the clinical utility of the 21-gene recurrence score assay to guide adjuvant chemotherapy use and led to the development of the RSClin tool, which facilitates more informed decision making by integrating prognostic information provided by the recurrence score and clinicopathologic factors. Sparano also leads the NCI-funded AIDS Malignancy Consortium, overseeing a global cancer treatment and prevention network in the United States, Africa, and Latin America.

Sparano’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 4:30 p.m. PT.

AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship: Camille C. R. Ragin, PhD (Photo)

This lectureship recognizes an outstanding scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research and who has, through leadership or by example, furthered the advancement of minority investigators in cancer research.

Ragin is the principal investigator of the African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium and the associate director of diversity, equity, and inclusion and professor of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is being recognized for unprecedented contributions to defining and understanding the genetical, molecular, and environmental factors that contribute to cancer onset and progression in underrepresented patient populations. Ragin’s elegant research has identified single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with altered expression of the DNA-damage response gene, polymerase β, that affect chemotherapy and radiotherapy response in patients of African origin. In addition to these pioneering research accomplishments, she is celebrated for providing consistent mentorship to minority cancer researchers and for leading collaborative and global projects dedicated to cancer prevention.

Ragin’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. PT.

AACR-Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship: Tony Hunter, PhD, FAACR (Photo)

This award, supported by The Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund, recognizes an individual scientist whose novel and significant work has had or may have a far-reaching impact on the detection, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of cancer, and who embodies the dedication of Princess Takamatsu to multinational collaborations.

Hunter, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is the American Cancer Society Professor of the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and Renato Dulbecco Chair at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. He is being recognized for his seminal discovery of tyrosine kinases and tyrosine phosphorylation of proteins that illuminated fundamental processes of cellular signaling and enabled the development of cancer therapeutics targeting kinases. His basic biomedical research targeting tyrosine kinases has since been successfully translated to more than 80 tyrosine kinase inhibitors clinically approved to treat and manage a multitude of cancers. Further, Hunter is recognized for his tireless commitment to establishing and leading collaborations worldwide dedicated to deciphering the complexities of cancer onset and progression and improving cancer patient care.

Hunter’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. PT.

AACR-St. Baldrick’s Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pediatric Cancer Research: Ching-Hon Pui, MD (Photo, please credit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)

This award, supported by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, recognizes an individual in any sector who has significantly contributed to any area of pediatric cancer research, resulting in the fundamental improvement of the understanding and/or treatment of pediatric cancer.

Pui is the co-leader of the Hematological Malignancies Program; director of St. Jude Global’s China Region; Fahad Nassar Al-Rashid Endowed Chair of Leukemia Research; and American Cancer Society Professor at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He is being recognized for revolutionizing the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and co-founding international collaborative groups dedicated to improving ALL survivorship. Pui’s clinical and translational research elegantly demonstrated that cranial irradiation, once a standard treatment for childhood high-risk ALL, may be safely omitted with consistent patient monitoring, in turn sparing patients from unnecessary radiation and improving overall quality of life. Notably, he has also pioneered the use of minimal residual disease measurement as a key component of risk-direct treatment strategies and spearheaded groundbreaking research dedicated to defining germline and somatic mutations in pediatric ALL, especially within patient populations in resource-limited countries.

Pui’s award lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 9, at 3:45 p.m. PT.

AACR-Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer Research: Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD (Photo)

This award, supported by the Waun Ki Hong Endowment Fund, recognizes a worthy cancer researcher who has conducted highly meritorious translational and clinical cancer research anywhere in the world and who has not yet reached 51 years of age at the time of the award presentation.

Kopetz is a professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology and associate vice president for translational integration at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He is being recognized for spearheading the development of novel therapies for patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic colon cancer with poor prognosis. Kopetz brilliantly developed a clinical program to personalize therapeutic regimens based on genetic profiles ascertained from patient-derived xenograft models that would lead to the finding that KRAS/NRAS mutations can contribute to MAPK-pathway inhibition resistance in BRAF-mutant cancers. This discovery has resulted in the establishment of BRAF and EGFR inhibitor combinations as a standard of care and has improved our understanding of mechanisms of resistance for such patient populations.

Kopetz’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 4:30 p.m. PT.

AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Lectureship: Elizabeth L. Travis, PhD (Photo)

This award is presented to an outstanding scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research and who has, through leadership or by example, furthered the advancement of women in science.

Travis is a professor of experimental radiation oncology and was previously the Mattie Allen Fair Professor in Cancer Research and associate vice president of faculty diversity, equity, and inclusion at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She is being recognized for her lauded research contributions to defining the effects of radiation on normal tissues, which has resulted in the characterization of complications that may arise as a result of radiation therapy and has helped guide the improvement of radiation therapy usage to improve cancer patient outcomes. Travis is also recognized for her steadfast dedication to the advancement of women in science through her leadership in serving as an advocate for women cancer researchers and for championing the recruitment and retention of women and minority cancer researchers.

Travis’ award lecture will be held on Monday, April 8, at 3 p.m. PT.

Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research: Titia de Lange, PhD, FAACR (Photo)

This award, supported by the Pezcoller Foundation, is presented to a scientist of international renown who has made a scientific discovery in basic or translational cancer research.

De Lange, a Fellow of the AACR Academy, is Leon Hess Professor, head of the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, and director of the Anderson Center for Cancer Research at The Rockefeller University in New York, New York. She is being recognized for her groundbreaking discovery of molecular mechanisms by which telomeres protect chromosome ends, for the identification of the shelterin protein complex, and for demonstrating how loss of telomere protection results in aberrant genomic integrity and tumorigenesis. De Lange’s research has proven to be invaluable in the field of telomere research and has led to greater understanding of cancer development as well as genome maintenance.

De Lange’s award lecture will be held on Sunday, April 7, at noon PT.