The ESMO Gynaecological Cancers Congress 2026 has recognised a group of early-career researchers through its ESMO Merit Awards, highlighting promising scientific contributions across the field of gynaecological oncology.
The awards are reserved for first authors who are also presenting authors and whose submitted abstracts are considered deserving of recognition by the Congress Scientific Committee.
Recognising Scientific Merit at an Early Career Stage
A restricted number of ESMO Merit Awards are available for the ESMO Gynaecological Cancers Congress 2026. Candidates must be ESMO Members under the age of 40 and must indicate their wish to be considered for the award when submitting their abstract.
Selection is made on a competitive basis by the Scientific Committee, with the scientific merit of the submitted abstract forming the central criterion.
The initiative reflects ESMO’s continued focus on supporting young investigators whose research may contribute to future advances in cervical, endometrial, ovarian, and other gynaecological cancers.
ESMO Gynae 2026 Merit Award Recipients
The Merit Award recipients for ESMO Gynae 2026 include:
- Aarathi Ardha — Hyderabad, India
- Maria Chiara Cannizzaro — Rome, Italy
- Lu Deng — Beijing, China
- Karim El-Shakankery — Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Rahul Falodia — Jodhpur, India
- Asli Gecgel — Izmir, Türkiye
- Ashmita Ghosh — Kolkata, India
- Irene Giannubilo — Barcelona, Spain
- Christina Grech — Vienna, Austria
- Ekram Hasanin — Tripoli, Libya
- Kainat Jamil — Leuven, Belgium
- Olivia Le Saux — Lyon, France
- Xiaoshi Liu — Chengdu, China
- Samantha Low — Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Chitrakshi Nagpal — New Delhi, India
- Vincenza Ricco — Bellinzona, Switzerland
- Alexandra Strojna — Essen, Germany
- Jean Ling Tan — Manchester, United Kingdom
- Tuba Tuzcu — Ankara, Türkiye
- Yu-Hsuen Yang — Sutton, United Kingdom
- A Global Group of Early-Career Investigators
This year’s awardees represent institutions and research communities across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Their recognition comes as the ESMO Gynaecological Cancers Congress 2026 prepares to showcase new research across basic and translational science, cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, and broader areas of clinical interest.
Accepted abstracts will be selected for presentation as Proffered Papers, Rapid Oral presentations, Posters, or E-Posters, with all accepted work scheduled for publication in the ESMO Gynaecological Cancers Congress 2026 Abstract Book, a supplement to ESMO Open.
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Written by Nare Hovhannisyan, MD