During a packed Opening Plenary session, four leaders in the lung cancer community received Distinguished Service Awards in recognition of their global contributions to the field of thoracic oncology. The 2026 honorees are Luis M. Montuenga, PhD; Martin Carl Tammemägi, PhD; Ross Camidge, MD, PhD; and Wendy Cooper, MBBS, BSc (Med), PhD, FRCPA.
The opening of the 2026 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in Seoul, Republic of Korea, also featured an address by José Luis Castro, WHO Director-General Special Envoy for Chronic Respiratory Diseases, titled “Science Without Boundaries. Care Without Boundaries.”
Attendees also heard an update on Korea’s National Screening Program from Keun Seok Lee, MD, PhD, of National Cancer Center Korea, as well as talks from Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD; patient Shin Keuk Jung, and Laura A. Petrillo, MD.
If you missed the Opening Plenary, the on-demand session recordings of all WCLC 26 sessions will be available within 24 hours of the session’s conclusion via the virtual platform.
2026 Distinguished Service Award Recipients
Adi F. Gazdar IASLC Merit Award
Luis M. Montuenga, PhD
Prof. Montuenga is the recipient of the 2026 Adi F. Gazdar IASLC Merit Award. This award honors the legacy of Dr. Gazdar’s groundbreaking contributions as one of the first true molecular pathologists specializing in lung cancer.
Prof. Montuenga is a Full Professor of Cell Biology (Sciences/Medicine) and a Senior Researcher at CIMA and the Cancer Center of Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. Prof. Montuenga has held several leadership positions at the University of Navarra, including Head of CIMA’s Oncology Division, Dean of the School of Sciences, and Vice President for Research.
As a member of the IASLC for more than 25 years, Prof. Montuenga served on the IASLC Screening and Early Detection Committee from 2014 to 2019. Since May 2017, he has served on the Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee, including the Molecular Prognostic Factors and Molecular Subcommittee, contributing to the 9th Edition of the TNM Classification.
Prof. Montuenga has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) since 2011 and previously held the position of Associate Editor for JTO Clinical and Research Reports (JTO CRR) from 2021 to 2023. He has mentored three IASLC fellowship recipients and hosted an international mentoring award fellow in 2019.
Prof. Montuenga’s research focuses on the discovery, validation, and standardization of biomarkers for early detection and patient management, including novel kinases, the tumor microenvironment and immune landscape, splicing alterations, spatial and liquid biopsy omics, and murine models.
Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award
Martin Carl Tammemägi, PhD
The 2026 Joseph W. Cullen Prevention/Early Detection Award honors Dr. Cullen’s remarkable contributions to cancer prevention and tobacco control.
Dr. Tammemägi is Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at Brock University, Ontario, Canada. From 2015 to 2023, he served as the Scientific Lead for Ontario Health—Cancer Care Ontario’s Ontario Lung Screening Program and its pilot initiative. He is currently a co-investigator on 11 active studies primarily focused on lung cancer, screening, biomarkers, and risk prediction modeling, and remains an active analyst on multiple international trials.
Dr. Tammemägi is an associate member of the US Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network (CISNET) Lung Group. He has developed several widely validated and internationally adopted lung cancer risk prediction models.
Additionally, Dr. Tammemägi serves on the IASLC Early Detection and Screening Working Group. He co-led the IASLC Delphi Process Study, “Lung Cancer Screening Program Quality Indicators—Review and Recommendations,” and the IASLC FALCONS study examining feasible approaches for lung cancer screening among people who have never smoked.
Dr. Tammemägi is currently involved in developing updated lung cancer risk prediction models that incorporate additional predictors, including environmental and occupational exposures. These models aim to better predict lung cancer risk for people who have never smoked, as well as for special populations such as individuals with HIV/AIDS.
His research also focuses on reducing disparities in cancer screening and improving screening strategies for women, Black populations in the United States, and Indigenous peoples in Canada, the US, New Zealand, and Australia.
Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award
D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD
Dr. Camidge, Director of Thoracic Oncology at the University of Colorado, received the Paul A. Bunn Jr. Scientific Award. Named after the longstanding IASLC Executive Director and CEO, this award recognizes an IASLC scientist for a lifetime of contributions to thoracic cancer research.
The discoveries made by Dr. Camidge and his team—particularly in targeted therapies—have transformed the standard of care for lung cancer treatment in several instances. He has authored more than 400 academic publications, including papers published in the JTO, Lancet Oncology, and the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Camidge has received numerous honors throughout his career, including the Bonnie J. Addario International Lectureship Award in 2012, the Hank Baskett Sr. Spirit Award in 2013, the Lung Cancer Foundation’s Breath Away from the Cure Award in 2016, and the Daniel C. Ihde Award for Medical Oncology in 2023.
Since 2017, Dr. Camidge has been recognized annually as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics Web of Science, ranking among the top 1% of researchers worldwide in Clinical Medicine. He is also the founding National Medical Director of the Academic Thoracic Oncology Medical Investigators Consortium (ATOMIC), a collaborative network of 16 sites across the US and Canada conducting thoracic oncology trials.
Diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in 2022, Dr. Camidge publicly shared his diagnosis in September 2025 to help raise awareness of lung cancer and reduce the stigma associated with the disease.
Mary J. Matthews Pathology/Translational Research Award
Wendy Cooper, MBBS, BSc (Med), PhD, FRCPA
The Mary J. Matthews Pathology/Translational Research Award recognizes an IASLC scientist for their lifetime contributions to pathology and translational research in thoracic malignancies. This year’s award was presented to Prof. Cooper, a thoracic pathologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia. She is also a Clinical Professor at the University of Sydney and the Anatomical Clinical Stream Lead for NSW Health Pathology.
Prof. Cooper is a member of the Australian National Lung Cancer Screening Program Expert Advisory Committee and serves on the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Handbook on Lung Cancer Screening Committee.
Her honors include the Distinguished Pathologist Award from the Australasian Division of the International Academy of Pathology in 2024, the IASLC Fred Hirsch Lectureship Award in 2023, the Vince McGovern Memorial Award from the Australasian Division of the International Academy of Pathology in 2019, and the Dr. John Raftos Award from the National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation in 2017.
Since 2023, Prof. Cooper has served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the journal Pathology and is also an Associate Editor of JTO CRR. She serves on the IASLC Pathology and Staging Committees and chairs the Royal Australasian College of Pathologists Cancer Services Advisory Committee. She currently serves as a Standing Editorial Board member for the 6th Edition of the WHO Classification of Tumors.
Prof. Cooper has held numerous leadership positions, including Past Chair of the IASLC Pathology Committee, Past President of the Asian-Australasian Pulmonary Pathology Society, and Thoracic Series Champion for the International Collaboration on Cancer Reporting. She has also secured more than $16.45 million in research funding and led multiple national studies on lung cancer biomarkers.
