We are proud to announce that Amalya Sargsyan, MD, MSc, Vice President of Research & Intelligence at OncoDaily, has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 ESMO Leadership and Career Development Award.
The award is part of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2026 Fellowship Programme, which supports the professional and scientific development of oncology professionals through international training, research opportunities, mentorship, and leadership development.
The newly introduced Leadership and Career Development Award is designed to support emerging oncology leaders by providing protected time to pursue impactful projects in clinical or translational research or capacity building. The programme also incorporates leadership training and opportunities for recipients to contribute to ESMO initiatives.
A total of 28 oncologists from around the world were selected for the inaugural Leadership and Career Development Awards in 2026.
As part of the award, Dr. Sargsyan will join Professor Sandra Strauss at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) in London, where she will continue her training in sarcoma and adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology, with a particular focus on osteosarcoma.
Building a Career in Sarcoma and AYA Oncology
Amalya Sargsyan is a medical oncologist based in Yerevan, Armenia. She heads the Sarcoma Service at D’Clinic, treats adult solid tumors at the Adult Solid Tumors and Chemotherapy Clinic of the Yeolyan Hematology and Oncology Center, and leads the Adult Solid Tumor Team at the Immune Oncology Research Institute. Her clinical practice focuses on sarcoma, gastrointestinal cancers, and AYA oncology.
She earned her MD and completed her medical oncology residency at Yerevan State Medical University, followed by an MSc in Precision Medicine in Clinical Practice at the University of Cyprus.
Her training in sarcoma began with Salvatore Provenzano and continued through a three-month fellowship at the Sarcoma Unit of Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, organized with the European School of Oncology. She subsequently completed observerships at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the sarcoma programme at Stanford Medicine.
She has also trained in gastrointestinal oncology under the mentorship of Yelena Janjigian at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, as a recipient of the ASCO Conquer Cancer International Development and Education Award and the Memorial Sloan Kettering GI Oncology International Training Award.
Photo taken from Amalya Sargsyan/LinkedIn
Dr. Sargsyan’s research focuses on access and equity in cancer care in low- and middle-income countries. She is the principal investigator of the IMMONKG study, a multinational retrospective cohort examining alternative immune checkpoint inhibitor dosing strategies across LMICs, and was first author of a 2025 JCO Global Oncology analysis examining access to immunotherapy in Armenia’s out-of-pocket healthcare system.
She has authored and contributed to peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, JCO Global Oncology, The Lancet Oncology, and Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Her recognitions include two ESMO Merit Awards, the ASCO Conquer Cancer International Development and Education Award, and now the 2026 ESMO Leadership and Career Development Award.
At OncoDaily, Dr. Sargsyan leads the Research & Intelligence unit, overseeing global oncology content strategy, editorial operations across six disease-focused verticals, and more than 50 scientific events annually, including the How I Treat virtual summit series.
She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Yerevan State Medical University, founder of the Young Oncology Group of Armenia, and founder of the ASCO Oncology Student Interest Group at Yeolyan.
Sharing the news of the ESMO award, Dr. Sargsyan wrote:
“Proud to receive the ESMO Leadership & Career Development Award and very excited to be joining Prof. Sandra Strauss at UCL Health to do Sarcoma & AYA oncology, with a focus on osteosarcoma.”
She reflected on the significance of the opportunity to train with Professor Strauss:
“For years, I have cited Prof. Strauss’ research, opened guidelines with her name on them, and learned from the work she has helped shape. I never really thought that one day I would have the opportunity to be mentored by her.”
She also acknowledged the mentorship of Gevorg Tamamyan, Davit Zohrabyan, Samvel Bardakhchyan, and Jemma Arakelyan, together with colleagues and international experts who have supported her journey in sarcoma oncology.
For Dr. Sargsyan, the motivation behind this next stage of her career is closely connected to her work with adolescents and young adults with cancer.
“Working with adolescents and young adults with cancer is one of the most beautiful, but also one of the hardest parts of my work. Their courage is also one of the biggest reasons behind my passion for oncology. I want to make a change in sarcoma and AYA care, globally, but especially back home in Armenia.”
The Leadership and Career Development Awards form part of a broader group of 31 ESMO-supported fellowships announced for 2026. Alongside the 28 Leadership and Career Development Award recipients, ESMO selected fellows for programmes focused on artificial intelligence, digital and computational pathology, and clinician-scientist development.
Together, the 2026 recipients represent ESMO’s continued investment in developing the next generation of oncology clinicians, researchers, and leaders across cancer research and care.
We congratulate Amalya Sargsyan on this important international recognition and are proud to see her work in sarcoma, AYA oncology, cancer research, and global oncology recognized by ESMO.
Read further on OncoDaily: OncoDaily Editor-in-Chief Gevorg Tamamyan Awarded 2026 Global Health Catalyst Distinguished Leader Award
