Keith Kerr Receives the 2025 Heine H. Hansen Award

On March 4, 2025, ESMO announced that Prof. Keith Kerr has been awarded the 2025 Heine H. Hansen Award for his exceptional contributions to thoracic oncology research and education. His extensive work in NSCLC classification and the development of diagnostic and treatment guidelines for lung cancer has significantly influenced the field.

About Prof. Keith Kerr

Prof. Keith Kerr is a Consultant Pathologist in the Department of Pathology at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and an Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen, UK, specializing in thoracic pathology.

He obtained his BSc with First-Class Honors in Pathology (1978) and MB ChB (1981), followed by postgraduate training at Edinburgh University Medical School and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He earned MRCPath (1988), FRCPath (1998), and Honorary FRCP(Ed) (2006). Since 1989, he has served as a Consultant Pathologist in Aberdeen and was awarded an Honorary Chair in Pulmonary Pathology by the University of Aberdeen in 2006.

He is a member of the IASLC Pathology Panel and was a core contributor to the 2011 IASLC/ATS/ERS Adenocarcinoma Classification and served on the IASLC Board of Directors (2013-2017). He was involved in the 2004 and 2015 WHO lung cancer classifications and served as Pathology Chair for the EORTC Lung Cancer Group (2006-2014).

His expertise has been instrumental in developing lung cancer diagnosis and management guidelines, including contributions to RCPath, SIGN, NICE, BTS, ESMO, IASLC/ETOP, and IASLC/CAP/AMP. He is actively involved in revising the BTS Mesothelioma guidelines and serves on the panel for updating the CAP/IASLC/AMP molecular pathology testing guidelines for lung cancer.

Photo credit to ilcn.org

Prof. Kerr has extensive expertise in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), particularly in predictive and diagnostic biomarkers, including PD-L1 immunohistochemistry, as well as molecular profiling, mutations, immunotherapy, and personalized medicine. His contributions have been instrumental in advancing the understanding of NSCLC classification and treatment approaches. As a lead author for the ESMO Consensus Guidelines on pathology and molecular biomarkers for NSCLC, he has played a key role in shaping international standards for lung cancer diagnosis and management.

A member of ESMO since 2012, Prof. Kerr has been part of the ESMO Faculty Group for Lung Cancer and Thoracic Malignancies as an expert pathologist. He is a long-standing member of the British Thoracic Society (BTS) and has served on numerous scientific and advisory committees within the global oncology community.

Prof. Kerr’s extensive contributions to lung cancer pathology and oncology education make him a deserving recipient of this prestigious award.

He will deliver his award lecture, “HHH: History, Histopathology & Hyperbole. Lung cancer pathology comes of age,” on Wednesday, March 26, at the European Lung Cancer Congress 2025 in Paris, France.

About Heine H. Hansen Award

Established in 2015, the Heine H. Hansen (HHH) Award honors Prof. Heine Hoi Hansen for his global contributions to lung cancer research and education. Presented by the IASLC and ESMO, this award recognizes exceptional investigators who have made a significant international impact in the field.

The award is given annually at the European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC), the joint ESMO-IASLC meeting, where the recipient is invited to deliver a keynote lecture during the opening session.

Previous recipients of the HHH Award include Enriqueta Felip (2024), Paul Baas (2023), Fred R. Hirsch (2022), Johan Vansteenkiste (2021), Fiona Blackhall (2020), Françoise Mornex (2019), Fabrice Barlesi (2018), Rafal Dziadziuszko (2017), Suresh Senan (2016), and Pieter Postmus (2015).