AACR Announces 2026 Distinguished Service Award Recipients

SAN DIEGO – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will honor leaders from government and the advocacy community with awards for distinguished service in support of cancer research at the AACR Annual Meeting 2026, to be held April 17-22 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California.

Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) is being recognized with the 2026 Distinguished Public Service Award for her longstanding support for medical research funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and her extraordinary leadership during the fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations process, in which Senator Collins led the effort as one of the most powerful Republicans to speak out against the Administration’s FY2026 budget proposal to slash NIH funding.

As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the first Republican woman to hold that position, Collins convened the very first Senate hearings of her tenure as Chair to examine the potential catastrophic consequences from the President’s FY2026 budget proposal. In her opening statement, Chair Collins noted that the hearing “speaks to the highest priority that this committee places on biomedical research.” She continued: “There is no investment that pays greater dividends to American families than our investment in this research, which can lead to lifesaving and life-enhancing discoveries.” Her efforts were instrumental in Congress ultimately rejecting the President’s proposal to cut NIH funding by over 40% and instead secured a $415 million increase for NIH in FY2026.

In addition to her extraordinary support for funding cancer research, Senator Collins has led efforts to expand access to cancer screening tests and increase opportunities for patients with cancer to participate in clinical trials. To this end, she coauthored the SCREENS for Cancer Act to reauthorize and strengthen the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which has provided screenings to more than 6 million women nationwide. She also introduced the bipartisan NIH Clinical Trial Integrity Act to increase demographic representation in NIH-funded clinical trials.

Senator Collins has noted the consequences of falling behind in biomedical innocation could be dire. She has stated that the U.S. should not take its hard-earned position as the “world leader in scientific research” for granted. Senator Collins has long made the case that NIH funding is not a partisan issue. Her steady leadership during a period of significant uncertainty and upheaval for the American medical and scientific research community has been a testament to that conviction, which is why AACR is proud to present her with the AACR 2026 Distinguished Public Service Award.

Jill Feldman is being recognized with the 2026 AACR Distinguished Patient Advocacy and Engagement Award for her extraordinary leadership, unwavering dedication, and transformative impact on both the lung cancer patient advocacy community and lung cancer research. An internationally recognized lung cancer research advocate, Feldman has spent more than two decades working to ensure that patients’ and families’ lived experiences shape research and care. She lost her father, mother, close aunt, and two grandparents to lung cancer, and in 2009, Jill herself was diagnosed with EGFR-positive lung cancer at just 39 years old.

Feldman has become a powerful and deeply trusted voice for patient advocates worldwide, known for bringing urgency, credibility, and the realities of living with lung cancer into spaces where scientific and clinical decisions are made. In 2017, Feldman co-founded EGFR Resisters, a grassroots, patient-driven community committed to accelerating research to extend and improve the lives of people diagnosed with EGFR-mutated lung cancer. Through her leadership, the organization has funded more than $1 million for lung cancer research. She serves as president of EGFR Resisters, a patient advocate on the ECOG-ACRIN Thoracic Committee, and a member of the programmatic committee for the Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program. Feldman is currently a member of the Patient Advisory Board of the Institute for Translational Medicine. She has previously served as chair of the Patient Advisory Committee of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).

With tireless resolve and clarity of purpose, she has championed the integration of the patient voice into medical research, clinical care, and cancer policy decisions. Her steadfast commitment to patient-centered research has helped bridge the gap between scientific innovation and lived patient experience, influencing clinical guidelines, research design, scientific meetings, and strategic collaboration. She has coauthored peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, and clinical guidelines, and is a co-developer of the IASLC Language Guide to reduce stigma, eliminate blame, and strengthen patient-physician trust. As a long-time attendee of scientific conferences, she has become a respected and internationally recognized speaker who clearly communicates the patient perspective. She has successfully convened patient and caregiver summits, further demonstrating her unique ability to mobilize the community, inspire collaboration, and drive meaningful progress against lung cancer.

Feldman has supported the AACR Scientist↔Survivor Program® as an Advocate Mentor, an AACR Annual Meeting Social Media Ambassador, and a panelist at the AACR Annual Meeting 2025 Major Symposium, Redefining Cancer Survivorship for People Living with Advanced and Metastatic Cancers. She has also served on the AACR Annual Meeting Program Committee and has been a member of the AACR Women in Cancer Research constituency group since 2020. In May 2025, she was featured in Cancer Today in the article Redefining Cancer Survivorship. 

Collins and Feldman will be honored and deliver brief remarks during the Opening Ceremony of the AACR Annual Meeting 2026 on Sunday, April 19.