UChicago cancer experts showcase leadership and innovation at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting

Nearly 25 researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center presented advances in cancer care at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held at McCormick Place in Chicago from May 30 to June 3.

The meeting featured more than 200 sessions that echoed Dr. Robin Zon’s Presidential theme, “Driving Knowledge to Action: Building a Better Future.” The sessions spanned topics ranging from new treatments and diagnostics to advocacy and community building, all emphasizing the transformation of scientific discoveries into tangible improvements in cancer care.

Leadership Recognition and Honors

Sonali M. Smith, MD, FASCO, Elwood V. Jensen Professor of Medicine and Section Chief of Hematology/Oncology at UChicago Medicine, was elected to the ASCO Board of Directors, with her term beginning in June 2025.

The Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO) designation recognizes members for their extraordinary volunteer service, engagement, and dedication to ASCO. This year, Rita Nanda, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Breast Oncology Program at UChicago Medicine, was honored with the FASCO designation.

Trainee Awards

Several UChicago trainees were recognized for their scientific excellence:

• Alexandra Rojek, MD, Joseph Cannova, MD, and Wenji Guo, MD, received Young Investigator Awards.
• Gideon Dosunmu, MD, received a Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium Merit Award.
• Faith Abodunrin, MD, received an Annual Meeting Merit Award.

Scientific Presentations

In total, UChicago researchers presented up to 30 abstracts across educational sessions, case-based panels, rapid oral abstract sessions, and poster presentations.

On May 31, 2025, during the education session “Oncology Division Chiefs and Department Chairs' Breakfast,” Alexander T. Pearson, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, presented emerging trends in the use of AI and its role in reshaping clinical cancer care. In the same session, Sonali M. Smith, MD, FASCO, delivered a talk titled “Network Integration and Preservation of the Academic Mission.”

In another education session titled “Advancing Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Care: Strategic Integration of Neoadjuvant, Surgical, and Adjuvant Therapies,” Maria Lucia Madariaga, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, addressed the growing challenges of surgical care for older patients with non-small cell lung cancer in the era of neoadjuvant and perioperative therapies.

In a case-based panel titled, “Is Minimal Residual Disease Testing Helpful in Managing Multiple Myeloma?” Ben Derman, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, joined other panelists to discuss the optimal strategies for molecular testing, including the use of minimal residual disease testing and imaging modalities, such as PET scans, and how to incorporate testing into the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma.

In a rapid oral abstract session, Austin Wesevich, MD, MPH, MS, an instructor in the Department of Medicine, presented data on “Board certification and billing practices of international medical graduate hematologists and oncologists,” emphasizing disparities in workforce recruitment.

Michael R. Bishop, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Program, discussed abstracts presented by Pierre Yves Dumas, MD, PhD, from CHU, Bordeaux, France, and Arjun Datt Law, MD, from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, in a session titled, “Hematologic Malignancies—Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndromes, and Allotransplant.”

Poster Presentation Highlights

Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Myeloma Program, presented a poster with updated results from the ATLAS trial that showed improved progression-free survival and overall survival with KRd maintenance post-ASCT compared to lenalidomide alone in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

Frederick Howard, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, presented a poster on the use of AI models to predict treatment outcomes in breast cancer patients.

The next ASCO Annual Meeting will take place from May 29 to June 2, 2026, at McCormick Place in Chicago.