Ana I. Velazquez-Manana, MD, MSc, FASCO, was honored with the Challenging the Status Quo Yvonne Award during the Yvonne Awards Ceremony at OncoDaily Party 2026, held on May 29 at Park West in Chicago.
Natera was the exclusive partner of the Yvonne Awards Ceremony and OncoDaily Reception.
The recognition highlights Dr. Velázquez Mañana’s work as a thoracic oncologist, health equity researcher, medical educator, advocate, and leader in inclusive cancer care. Her career has focused on improving oncology access for underserved communities, strengthening diversity in clinical trials, supporting Hispanic and Latinx representation in medicine, and building more equitable systems for patients with lung cancer.
The Challenging the Status Quo Yvonne Award recognizes professionals whose work questions existing gaps in cancer care and creates practical pathways toward change. In Dr. Velázquez Mañana’s case, that work has been shaped through clinical care at safety-net hospitals, research in cancer disparities, leadership within ASCO, and a strong commitment to making oncology more inclusive for patients, trainees, and clinicians.
A Career Built Around Equity and Oncology Access
Ana I. Velazquez-Manana serves as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco, with clinical work at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and UCSF thoracic oncology clinics. Her work brings together lung cancer care, medical oncology, health policy, quality improvement, survivorship, and cancer care delivery for diverse patient populations.
Her path began at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, where she completed her undergraduate studies in pre-medicine, followed by her medical degree at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She later earned a Master of Biomedical Science from the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, completed internal medicine residency and chief residency at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, and pursued medical oncology fellowship and a National Clinician Scholars Program postdoctoral fellowship at UCSF.
This training background reflects the foundation of her professional mission: combining clinical oncology with research, education, public service, and systems-level work to address inequities in cancer care.
Challenging Gaps in Lung Cancer Care
A major part of Dr. Velázquez Mañana’s work focuses on lung cancer, especially disparities in access, biomarker testing, survivorship, social needs, and clinical trial participation.
Her research has examined patterns of EGFR mutation testing in metastatic lung cancer in a safety-net hospital, minority representation in lung cancer immunotherapy trials, targetable genomic alterations in Hispanic and Latinx patients with non-small cell lung cancer, and survivorship needs among low-income older adults with lung cancer.
These questions are central to modern thoracic oncology. New targeted therapies and immunotherapies have changed lung cancer treatment, but those advances only reach patients when testing is performed, referrals are timely, trials are accessible, social needs are recognized, and care systems are designed around the realities patients face.
Ana I. Velazquez-Manana’s work challenges the idea that scientific progress alone is enough. Her career shows that innovation must also reach the patients most at risk of being left out.
Bringing Equity Into Clinical Trials
Ana I. Velazquez-Manana has contributed significantly to work focused on clinical trial access and inclusion. She has served on the ASCO Clinical Trials Access and Inclusion Task Force, the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Health Disparities Committee, and the ASCO Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee.
Her research awards include projects evaluating cancer clinical trial participation among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx adults, social needs screening in lung cancer, and recruitment strategies for diverse populations in oncology research.
This work is especially important because clinical trials shape the evidence used in everyday cancer care. When trial populations do not reflect the patients seen in real clinics, the evidence base becomes incomplete. Dr. Velázquez Mañana’s work pushes oncology toward a more honest and inclusive research model.
Leading From the Safety-Net Setting
Dr. Velázquez Mañana’s clinical work at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital is central to her identity as an oncologist and researcher. She provides care in a safety-net setting, where patients often face complex barriers related to language, insurance, transportation, immigration concerns, financial stress, social needs, and access to specialty care.
Her quality and research initiatives have addressed oral oncolytic education, laboratory monitoring, delays in radiation oncology referrals, survivorship care, social risk screening, and timely diagnostic evaluation and treatment for lung cancer.
This work reflects a practical approach to equity. Rather than discussing disparities only as broad statistics, Dr. Velázquez Mañana has focused on the clinic-level systems that determine whether a patient receives the right test, understands treatment, starts therapy on time, and receives support after diagnosis.
A Strong Voice for Hispanic and Latinx Representation
Dr. Ana I. Velazquez-Manana has been a prominent voice on Hispanic and Latinx representation in oncology. Her publications and professional work have addressed Latinx and Hispanic underrepresentation in the oncology workforce, cancer clinical trials, and cancer care delivery.
Her article “Dónde Están? Latinx/Hispanic Representation in the Oncology Workforce: Present and Future” and related work on Hispanic and Latinx disparities reflect a clear commitment to naming structural gaps and creating pathways for representation.
She has also delivered Spanish-language patient education and community talks, including sessions on cancer and Latinos, lung cancer, treatment side effects, and survivorship. This communication work is not separate from clinical care. It is part of building trust, improving understanding, and making oncology more accessible to patients and families.
Leadership Through ASCO and National Oncology Platforms
Dr. Ana I. Velazquez-Manana has held several important leadership roles within ASCO. She served on the ASCO Trainee and Early Career Advisory Group, later becoming Chair, and continued as Past Chair. She has also contributed to ASCO’s Digital Education Editorial Board, Social Media Working Group, Research Committee, Medical Education Community of Practice, Cancer Care Impact Committee, and lung cancer scientific and education programming.
She is also Track Chair for the ASCO Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee, Lung Cancer – Non-Small Cell Metastatic Track for 2025–2026.
These roles demonstrate how her impact extends beyond her institution. Through ASCO and other professional organizations, she has helped shape conversations around lung cancer science, medical education, early-career mentorship, digital engagement, advocacy, and equitable oncology practice.
Education, Mentorship, and Career Development
Dr. Ana I. Velazquez-Manana has also made mentorship a central part of her career. She has served as mentor in the ASCO Diversity Mentorship Program, the ASCO Oncology Summer Internship Program, the ASCO Annual Meeting Buddy Program, and multiple UCSF training initiatives.
At UCSF, she has worked with medical students, residents, fellows, and early-career trainees through formal teaching, fellowship didactics, clinical supervision, quality improvement training, and mentorship programs. She has also served as Assistant Director for Trainees in the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and later as Assistant Director in the Office of Education and Training.
This work reflects a key part of challenging the status quo: changing who gets supported, who gets mentored, who enters oncology, and who feels they belong in the field.
Recognition for Advocacy and Health Equity
Dr. Ana I. Velazquez-Manana has received multiple honors recognizing her research, advocacy, leadership, and service. These include ASCO Merit Awards, AACR Scholar-in-Training Awards in cancer health disparities, the Women Who Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award in Recognition of an Outstanding Latina Researcher, the ASCO Advocacy Champion distinction, and the 2025 Healio Disruptive Innovators Health Equity Award. She was also named a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2024.
These recognitions reflect a career that brings together clinical excellence, research productivity, advocacy, and a clear commitment to equity in cancer care.
Honoring a Leader Who Pushes Oncology Forward
The Challenging the Status Quo Yvonne Award recognizes Dr. Ana I. Velázquez Mañana for her work in thoracic oncology, health equity, clinical trial inclusion, safety-net cancer care, mentorship, and advocacy for underrepresented communities.
At OncoDaily Party 2026, her recognition highlighted the importance of leaders who do not accept unequal access as inevitable. Her work shows that cancer care can be redesigned through better data, inclusive research, patient-centered communication, trainee support, and a deeper commitment to the communities oncology serves.
Through her work at UCSF, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, ASCO, AACR, IASLC, MASCC, and multiple health equity initiatives, Dr. Velázquez Mañana continues to challenge oncology to become more representative, more accessible, and more accountable to every patient.
Written by Nare Hovhannisyan, MD