Conquering Cancer through Mentorship
Through the years, our grants and award recipients have grown into a network of mentors that stretches across the cancer research landscape. The result benefits the entire field of oncology—including patients around the world.
Behind every cancer breakthrough is a network of mentors who helped nurture the mind and career where it originated.
Their mentees go on to mentor others, with each generation paying it forward to the next. In the process, a type of mentorship “family tree” constantly grows, adds new branches, and yields new minds, new ideas, and new breakthroughs. This reality allows Conquer Cancer grants and awards recipients to make the most of their funding and the doors that open to them. Here are just a few examples.
Dr. Dawn Hershman: From Mentees to Junior Investigators to Collaborators
As a three-time grants and awards recipient, Dawn Hershman, MD, MS, FASCO, is a clear example of this mentorship family tree in action. “Conquer Cancer grants help mentees become lifelong collaborators with their mentors,” Dr. Hershman said. “They’ve gone from being mentees to junior investigators to independent investigators who I’ve worked with for my whole career.”
Today, as deputy director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University, Dr. Hershman remains committed to mentoring the next generation of early-career researchers. Many of them go on to win Conquer Cancer funding too.
“It takes a village,” said Dr. Hershman, who received a Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award in 2020. “Research is better when you work as a collaborative team.”
Dr. Arti Hurria: A Life Cut Short, a Legacy That Lives On
Arti Hurria, MD, FASCO, was a pioneer in geriatric cancer care. She was also a three-time Conquer Cancer grants and awards recipient. *
Though her life was tragically cut short in a 2018 traffic accident, her legacy persists in her mentees. That includes successfully guiding many of them through the application process for Conquer Cancer grants and awards. One of those people was Enrique Soto Pérez de Celis, MD, PhD, FASCO.
As a medical oncology fellow in Mexico City, Dr. Soto first connected with Dr. Hurria during an ASCO Annual Meeting. Their meeting led to a collaboration with Dr. Hurria, supported by a Conquer Cancer International Development and Education Award.
With Dr. Hurria’s guidance, Dr. Soto received a 2015 YIA, followed by a one-year, $115,000 grant for early-career oncologists in low- and middle-income countries. That funding let him keep working with Dr. Hurria, who helped him prepare a successful CDA application before she passed away.
In 2019, ASCO and Conquer Cancer established an endowed YIA in Dr. Hurria’s honor, supported by her friends and family. Today, Dr. Soto passes what he learned from her mentorship along to others.
“I always think of her and use her ideas and methods, even just from watching her work, listening to colleagues and patients, writing grants, and approaching situations,” said Dr. Soto, now associate director for Global Oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. “I still use that foundation in my work today.”
He also dedicates significant time to paying forward Dr. Hurria’s legacy of mentorship. One of his mentees is YIA recipient Haydeé Verduzco-Aguirre, MD, now an attending physician at a hospital in Mexico City.
“Being guided through that process by Dr. Soto was really essential,” Dr. Verduzco-Aguirre said.
Dr. Michael Carducci: Making Mentors Out of Mentees
As a professor at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and School of Medicine, Dr. Carducci’s legacy of research mentorship spans four generations. “I think what I learned from my mentor was how to be a good mentor,” said Dr. Carducci, a 1995 YIA recipient. “People are always going to need good mentors, no matter where they are in their careers.”
He went on to mentor Nilofer Azad, MD, another Conquer Cancer recipient based at Johns Hopkins. Continuing the chain, Dr. Azad mentored Mark Yarchoan, MD, a Johns Hopkins oncologist who, under Dr. Azad’s guidance, earned a YIA and a CDA.
“What I really learned from Dr. Azad was how to run a clinical trial,” Dr. Yarchoan says. “That’s a skill that I’ve tried to pay forward.” Dr. Yarchoan went on to mentor two 2024 YIA recipients: Mari Nakazawa, MD, a fellow at Johns Hopkins, and Daniel Shu, MD, a medical oncologist at the University of Maryland.
“Dr. Yarchoan has expertise that spans the translational spectrum,” Dr. Nakazawa said. “He guided me in terms of what skill sets I needed and how to realize my dreams of becoming a translational researcher.”
While every mentor-mentee relationship is unique, each plays a vital role in accelerating lifesaving breakthroughs. For investigators studying underfunded cancers, Conquer Cancer makes those connections even more meaningful.
“Conquer Cancer has always been strong about its mission in supporting people who are not only interested in patient care, but also in improving their outcomes through research,” Dr. Carducci said. “For me, it is the perfect sweet spot for bringing funding to the right people and working with them to make it pay off.”
Conquer Cancer appreciates the many ASCO members and grant recipients who help to make these research mentorships possible through their generous donations, including Dr. Dawn Hershman and Dr. Michael Carducci.