The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has announced the recipients of the 2026 ESMO Society Awards, recognising four oncology leaders for their contributions to cancer research, clinical care, translational science and leadership in the global oncology community.
The 2026 awards have been presented to Rebecca Fitzgerald, Dan A. Landau, Pilar Garrido and Antoni Ribas, whose work spans cancer prevention and early detection, cancer evolution, lung cancer, gender equity and cancer immunotherapy.
Rebecca Fitzgerald Receives the 2026 ESMO Award
Rebecca Fitzgerald, Director of the Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge, UK, has received the ESMO Award 2026 for her pioneering work in cancer prevention and early detection.
Her research has contributed to improving the identification of people at risk of oesophageal cancer and developing approaches to detect the disease at earlier, more treatable stages.
Fitzgerald’s work has also contributed to cancer screening and prevention strategies in the UK and across Europe.
Dan A. Landau Receives the ESMO Award for Translational Research
Dan A. Landau, Chair of the Department of Systems and Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and a Core Faculty Member of the New York Genome Center, USA, has received the 2026 ESMO Award for Translational Research.
Landau is recognised for his contributions to understanding cancer evolution and for developing genomic and computational approaches that have helped translate discoveries in cancer biology into potential clinical applications.
His research has provided new insights into how cancers develop and change over time, connecting genomic research with clinically relevant questions in oncology.
Pilar Garrido Receives the ESMO Women for Oncology Award
Pilar Garrido, from University Hospital Ramón y Cajal (IRYCIS) in Madrid, Spain, is the recipient of the 2026 ESMO Women for Oncology Award.
The award recognises her contributions to lung cancer research and patient care, as well as her longstanding work to advance women in oncology.
Through leadership, mentorship and advocacy, Garrido has worked to raise awareness of gender disparities in academic careers and leadership and to expand opportunities for women across the oncology community.
Antoni Ribas Receives the ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award
Antoni Ribas, Professor of Medicine at UCLA and Director of the Tumor Immunology Program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, USA, has received the 2026 ESMO Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ribas is recognised for his pioneering contributions to cancer immunotherapy and translational cancer research.
His work has contributed to transforming the treatment of melanoma and to advances that helped shape the modern era of immunotherapy and precision oncology.
Award Lectures at ESMO Congress 2026
The four recipients will deliver their award lectures during the Opening Session of ESMO Congress 2026 on Friday, October 23, 2026, in Madrid, Spain.
The ESMO Society Awards recognise individuals whose scientific, clinical and professional contributions have helped advance oncology and improve cancer care.
Read further on OncoDaily: The ESMO Congress 2026
