The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the largest cancer research organization in the country and based in Philadelphia, announced yesterday that it will bestow its 2023 Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research to Carl H. June, MD, during the AACR Annual Meeting 2023 in April in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. June is the Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, and Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is recognized for his groundbreaking work in developing the first gene-edited cell therapy for cancer and for demonstrating that adoptive T-cell therapy can induce remission—and in some cases—cure patients with advanced cancer.

The AACR Lifetime Achievement Award in Cancer Research was established to honor individuals who have 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 the recipient must have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to progress against cancer.

The many awards Dr. June has received throughout his illustrious career include the Keio Medical Science Prize (2022), the 2021 Dan David Prize, the 2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award and Lecture (2017), the Novartis Prize in Immunology (2016), the Award for Distinguished Research in Biomedical Sciences from the Association of American Medical Colleges (2015), the E. Donnall Thomas Prize from the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (2015), the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize from the Paul Ehrlich Foundation (2015), the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence (2014), the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies Karl Landsteiner Memorial Award (2014), the Philadelphia Award (2013), the Cancer Research Institute William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology (2012), the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Joan Miller and Linda Bernstein Gene Therapy Ovarian Cancer Award (2008), the Bristol-Myers Squibb Freedom to Discover Award (2005-2009), the Federal Laboratory Consortium Award for Excellence in Technology Transfer (2005), and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America Lifetime Achievement Award (2002).

Dr. June is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2014) and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (2012) and the National Academy of Science (2020).

Link to AACR Press Release
Link to ASCO Post News