Last night, four leading scientists were honored for their work advancing thoracic oncology during the Opening Plenary Session of the 2025 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC). Each received an IASLC Distinguished Service Award, recognizing their significant contributions and global impact in their field, as well as the IASLC. These awards continue to be an annual tribute to the legends of lung cancer research for whom they are named.
2025 Distinguished Service Award Recipients
Adi F. Gazdar IASLC Merit Award
Pasi A. Jänne, MD, PhD
The Adi Gazdar IASLC Merit Award was established to honor the legacy of Dr. Gazdar’s groundbreaking advancements as one of the first true molecular pathologists of lung cancer. This year’s recipient, Dr. Pasi A. Jänne, is the Senior Vice President for Translational Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston.
Dr. Jänne combines laboratory-based studies with translational research and clinical trials of novel therapeutic agents in patients with lung cancer. His comprehensive research has led to numerous discoveries, including the co-discovery of the EGFR mutation, which has spurred several clinical trials.
Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award
Witold Rzyman, MD
The Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award was created in recognition of Dr. Cullen’s extraordinary breakthroughs in cancer prevention and tobacco control. This year’s recipient, Dr. Witold Rzyman, is a certified thoracic surgeon whose research interests span multimodality treatment and minimally invasive surgical procedures in thoracic malignancies.
In 2006, Dr. Rzyman was named Chief Surgeon of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at the Medical University of Gdańsk, Poland, and later appointed Chief Surgeon at the Provincial Hospital for Lung Diseases in Prabuty, Poland. He is the author of more than 120 publications and is a member of the IASLC Early Detection and Screening Committee, as well as the Associate Editor of the IASLC Lung Cancer News.
Mary J. Matthews Pathology/Translational Research Award
Sanja Dacic, MD, PhD
The Mary J. Matthews Pathology/Translational Research Award recognizes an IASLC scientist for their lifetime contributions in pathology and translational research of thoracic malignancies. The 2025 recipient, Dr. Sanja Dacic, is Professor of Pathology, Vice Chair and Director of Anatomic Pathology, and Director of Thoracic Pathology at the Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecicut.
Dr. Dacic’s work focuses on diagnostic pulmonary and molecular pathology. She served as President of the Pulmonary Pathology Society and as Chair of the IASLC Pathology Committee. Her translational research projects in lung cancer and pleural mesotheliomas have resulted in more than 200 peer-reviewed articles.
Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award
Solange Peters, MD, PhD
Named after the longtime IASLC Executive Director and CEO, the Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award recognizes an IASLC scientist for a lifetime of scientific contributions to thoracic cancer research. This year’s recipient, Dr. Solange Peters,is a Professor and Director of Medical Oncology and teaches in the Thoracic Malignancies Program in the Department of Oncology at the University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Her primary research interests include new biomarker discoveries in preclinical and clinical settings, as well as multimodality strategies for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Dr. Peters serves as President of the Swiss Academy of Multidisciplinary Oncology and Vice Director of the Swiss National Cancer League. She is also on the editorial board of numerous oncology journals and has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters.
