Douglas Hanahan receives Pezcoller-AACR Award
Douglas Hanahan. Credit: D. Hanahan (EPFL)
EPFL professor and Ludwig Cancer Research Scholar Douglas Hanahan has won the Pezcoller-AACR award for his groundbreaking contributions to cancer biology.
The Pezcoller Foundation-AACR International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research recognizes scientists who have made pioneering contributions to cancer research. Jointly presented by the Pezcoller Foundation and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the award honors individuals whose work has significantly advanced the understanding and treatment of cancer.
EPFL congratulates Douglas Hanahan, Distinguished Scholar at the Lausanne Branch of Ludwig Cancer Research and Emeritus Professor at EPFL’s Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), on receiving this recognition. Hanahan is celebrated for his pioneering research in cancer biology, including his development of genetically engineered mouse models that have transformed the study of tumor progression and therapy resistance.
As a young scientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York in the 1980s, Hanahan created one of the first mouse models engineered to develop cancers in specific organs, reporting his landmark accomplishment in Nature. Later, working with Judah Folkman, he identified an "angiogenic switch" in these models—an essential process for tumor growth—paving the way for research into anti-angiogenic cancer therapies. Over the years, he has used these models to explore cancer progression, metastasis, therapy resistance, and the tumor microenvironment’s critical role in these processes.
Hanahan is also noted for co-authoring the seminal Hallmarks of Cancer essay with Ludwig MIT Co-director Robert Weinberg. First published in Cell in 2000 and later updated in 2011 and 2022, this framework established a foundational conceptual model for understanding cancer biology. These papers remain among the most influential in modern cancer research, shaping investigations into tumor development and treatment strategies.
“I am thrilled by this award, which recognizes recent accomplishments of my research program subsequent to receiving the AACR’s ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2014, justifying the visionary encouragement by EPFL and Ludwig Cancer Research of my lab’s continuance, with more to come, ” says Hanahan. He will receive the Pezcoller Foundation-AACR award and deliver a lecture at the AACR Annual Meeting 2025 in Chicago (25–30 April 2025), followed by an award ceremony in May in Trento, Italy.
The recognition underscores EPFL’s commitment to advancing biomedical research and fostering groundbreaking discoveries in oncology.