GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer Honors Solange Peters, MD, PhD with the 2019 Bonnie J. Addario Lectureship Award

GO₂ Foundation for Lung Cancer (a merger of the Lung Cancer Alliance and the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation) announced today that it presented Solange Peters, MD, PhD, with the 2019 Bonnie J. Addario Lectureship Award for her emphasis on groundbreaking biomarker research, improving access to care for lung cancer patients worldwide, and supporting the advancement of women in oncology. GO₂ Foundation honored Prof. Peters with the award at the International Lung Cancer Conference (ILCC) held July 25-27 in Huntington Beach, California.

“As an organization committed to breaking barriers and saving lives, we are proud to present Prof. Peters with the 2019 Bonnie J. Addario Lectureship Award for her tireless commitment to the lung cancer community,” said Bonnie J. Addario, co-founder and chair of GO₂Foundation. “Combined with her pioneering research, Prof. Peters’ efforts to close the gender gap in oncology will bring needed talent and perspective to lung cancer research and treatment and improve the lives of those impacted by the world’s deadliest disease for generations to come.”

Prof. Peters, an international opinion leader in lung cancer research, serves as Head of Medical Oncology and Chair of Thoracic Oncology at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) in Lausanne Switzerland.

Prof. Peters’ focus is on lung cancer biomarker discovery and validation, and clinical immunotherapy. Biomarker research represents a critical breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in that it allows for a more personalized and targeted approach to treating specific types of lung cancer. Researchers have found immunotherapy, a cancer treatment that helps a patient’s own immune system fight their cancer, effective in treating some cancers and research continues to expand its availability and use. In addition to her focus on biomarker and immunotherapy research, Prof. Peters believes that the focus over the next decade should be placed on securing access to essential cancer treatments, both in terms of availability and affordability, as well as on the promotion of independent academic research to expand upon discoveries and new treatments for cancer.

“Prof. Peters is a woman for all seasons: outstanding clinician, clinical investigator, translational scientist and an extraordinary leader. Most of all, patients always come first with her. She epitomizes what the ancient Greeks called ‘arete,’ being the best you can be,” said Dr. David R. Gandara, Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at the U.C. Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and 2010 recipient of the Bonnie J. Addario Lectureship Award.

Prof. Peters’ current research projects are focused on multimodality curative treatments for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as innovative immunotherapy strategies and targeted therapies for NSCLC, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), thymic malignancies and mesothelioma. She acts as the local or international prinicpal investigator (PI) of lung trials opened in Lausanne Cancer Centre, mainly focused on phase I, predictive biomarkers and NSCLC immunotherapy.

Prof. Peters has been elected to be the President of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) for the 2020-2021 mandate. She currently chairs the ESMO Women for Oncology Committee, aimed at supporting and mentoring women to advancing their careers and become the leaders of tomorrow. She also serves on the board of directors for the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and acts as Deputy Editor of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) since 2013. Prof. Peters received her MD from the Medical School at the University of Lausanne and attended the Microbiology Institute at the University of Lausanne where she completed her MD-PhD thesis on new HIV drug-resistance mechanisms.

Past Bonnie J. Addario Lectureship Award recipients:

• 2018 — Vassiliki A. Papadimitrakopoulou, M.D., Chief of Thoracic Medical Oncology, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• 2017 — Frances A. Shepherd, M.D., FRCPC, Senior Staff Physician, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre; Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
• 2016 — Giorgio Vittorio Scagliotti, M.D., Professor of Oncology, University of Torino; Head of the Department of Oncology and Chief of the Division of Medical Oncology, San Luigi Hospital, Torino, Italy
• 2015 — Fred R. Hirsch, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine
• 2014 — Roy S. Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., Ensign Professor of Medicine and Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center
• 2013 — Tony Mok, M.D., Professor in the Department of Clinical Oncology, Chinese University of Hong Kong in Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong
• 2012 — D. Ross Camidge, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical Program and Associate Director for Clinical Research, Colorado University Cancer Center
• 2011 — William Pao , M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research; Director, Personalized Cancer Medicine, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
• 2010 — David R. Gandara , M.D., Associate Director, Clinical Research, UC Davis Cancer Center
• 2009 — Harvey Pass , M.D., B.A., Director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and Chief of Thoracic Surgery, New York University Medical Center
• 2008 — Paul A. Bunn, Jr. M.D., Principal Investigator and Director, University of Colorado Cancer Center