Press Release
Sep 11, 2018
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer to Present Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award to Charles Swanton
DENVER - Professor Charles Swanton, Ph.D., FRCP, of The Francis Crick Institute, London, will be recognized by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) with a Distinguished Award at the IASLC 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Swanton will accept the Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award, honoring his lifetime achievements in scientific contributions to thoracic cancer research.
Dr. Swanton is chief investigator of Cancer Research UK’s TRACERx [TRAcking Cancer Evolution through therapy (Rx)] clinical study to decode the evolution of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and define how intratumoral heterogeneity impacts cancer immunity. His team’s groundbreaking work has led to the discovery of multiple factors that accelerate cancer evolution, providing insights into cancer drug resistance and treatment failure.
“Dr. Charlie Swanton has over many years brought significant insight into the molecular complexity of lung cancer and its implication for lack of successful treatment in many cases,” said Fred R. Hirsch, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of the IASLC. “With his research into clonal heterogeneity and emerging molecular clones during therapy we have been given valuable insight into the biology of lung cancer, which should lead to improved treatment outcomes, and hopefully one day turn lung cancer into a ‘chronic’—or curable—disease.”
Dr. Swanton has published over 210 papers, including first or senior author publications in New England Journal of Medicine,Nature, Nature Genetics, Cancer Discovery, Cancer Cell, Science and The Lancet Oncology. He is co-director of the CRUK Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence and was appointed CRUK senior clinical research fellow as well as Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He is also group leader of the Translational Cancer Therapeutics laboratory at the London Research Institute, now part of The Francis Crick Institute.
Dr. Swanton received his Ph.D. from the Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, now CRUK, on the University College London MBPhD program. He completed his medical oncology and CRUK-funded postdoctoral clinician scientist training in 2008.
Dr. Swanton will be honored on September 23, 2018 at the Opening Plenary Session at the IASLC 19th WCLC in Toronto, Canada. The IASLC WCLC is the world’s largest meeting dedicated to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, attracting more than 7,000 researchers, physicians and specialists from more than 100 countries. The IASLC 19th WCLC will take place in Toronto on September 23-26, 2018. The Distinguished Awards are presented each year at the WCLC to the IASLC scientists who have demonstrated excellence in the field of lung cancer research and prevention.
About the WCLC:
The World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) is the world’s largest meeting dedicated solely to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies, attracting over 7,000 researchers, physicians and specialists from more than 100 countries. The conference will cover a wide range of disciplines and unveil research studies and clinical trial results. For more information, visit www.iaslc.org. Follow the conference on social media with: #WCLC2018.
About the IASLC:
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated solely to the study of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 7,500 lung cancer specialists across all disciplines in over 100 countries, forming a global network working together to conquer lung and thoracic cancers worldwide. The association also publishes the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, the primary educational and informational publication for topics relevant to the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment of all thoracic malignancies. Visit www.iaslc.org for more information. You can also follow the IASLC on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.