Dr. Bishal Gyawali – Challenging the Status Quo Award: Yvonne Awards 2025

The Yvonne Awards 2025, presented by OncoDaily during the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, have become a much-awaited tradition in global oncology, honoring excellence, leadership, and advocacy. This inspiring event, known for its unique blend of celebration and purpose, took place once again on the Friday night of ASCO 2025 in Chicago, alongside the OncoDaily Party, forming what has now become a hallmark of the oncology calendar.

With the Chicago Riverwalk as its scenic backdrop, the 2025 ceremony brought together oncologists, researchers, advocates, and leaders worldwide. The Yvonne Awards named in tribute to a legacy of courage and mentorship have, over the years, established a meaningful platform to spotlight individuals who drive change and elevate the cancer care community. Building on the tradition, this year’s event continued to highlight voices that challenge the status quo, mentor across generations, and push the boundaries of science and humanity in oncology.

Dr. Bishal Gyawali: 2025 Challenging the Status Quo Award Winner

This year’s Challenging the Status Quo Award is presented to Dr. Bishal Gyawali, a globally recognized oncologist and health policy researcher whose work has redefined the standards of cancer care by questioning low-value practices, exposing inefficiencies in clinical research, and championing evidence-based, equitable, and affordable cancer treatment worldwide.

A Global Voice for Equity and Evidence

Dr. Bishal Gyawali is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology and Department of Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University, Canada. He also serves as a Scientific Advisory and Editorial Board member for several major oncology journals and is a frequent contributor to public and academic discourse on the ethics, affordability, and evidence behind cancer therapies.

Trained as both a medical oncologist and a health policy expert, Dr. Gyawali brings a rare interdisciplinary lens to cancer care—one that bridges clinical oncology with critical evaluations of global drug development, health systems, and access to innovation. His academic affiliations span continents, including past and ongoing collaborations with institutions in the United States, Japan, Nepal, and the United Kingdom.

Advocacy Through Science: Redefining “Value” in Cancer Care

Dr. Gyawali is widely recognized for championing the concept of value-based oncology a discipline focused on ensuring that cancer treatments provide meaningful benefit to patients without causing undue financial toxicity or widening global inequities. He has authored seminal works critiquing the approval of high-cost, low-benefit cancer drugs, emphasizing the importance of clinical meaningfulness over marginal statistical gains.

His voice has shaped major conversations around drug pricing, accelerated approvals, surrogate endpoints, and regulatory frameworks, making him a central figure in the movement toward patient-centered, data-driven oncology policy.

Influential Scholarship and Editorial Impact

An accomplished academic, Dr. Gyawali has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles, editorials, and commentaries in top-tier journals including The Lancet Oncology, JAMA Oncology, Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, and BMJ. He is a member of the WHO Essential Medicines List cancer panel and contributes to the ESMO-Magnitude of Clinical Benefit Scale (MCBS) working group key platforms that guide global oncology decisions.

As an Associate Editor for Journal of Global Oncology and ecancer, and a member of multiple editorial boards, Dr. Gyawali has helped shape editorial standards and foster dialogue that is both scientifically rigorous and socially responsible.

Source: https://oncology.queensu.ca/about/news/dr-bishal-gyawali-awarded-first-ever-global-oncology-young-investigator-award

Education and Global Perspective

Dr. Gyawali earned his MD from Tribhuvan University in Nepal, followed by training in internal medicine and medical oncology. He completed his PhD in Health Policy at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. This foundation, deeply rooted in both clinical care and critical policy analysis, informs his ongoing mission to democratize access to evidence-based cancer care particularly in low and middle income countries.

A widely sought speaker and educator, Dr. Gyawali mentors oncologists, researchers, and policymakers across the world. His thought leadership has earned him recognition as a bridge-builder between high-level academic discourse and the lived realities of cancer patients globally.

Recognition and Impact

Dr. Bishal Gyawali’s commitment to transparency, affordability, and global equity has made him one of the most influential voices in oncology today. His ability to synthesize evidence, policy, and human values has not only sparked meaningful reform but has also inspired a new generation of clinicians and researchers to think critically and act courageously.

The Challenging the Status Quo Award from the Yvonne Awards 2025 is a testament to his unwavering dedication to asking the hard questions, demanding better standards, and ensuring that every advancement in oncology serves the patients who need it most.

Looking Ahead: A Mission to Align Innovation with Integrity

As oncology enters an era of rapid innovation driven by AI, genomics, and novel therapies, Dr. Gyawali continues to advocate for robust evaluation, responsible pricing, and equitable access. His current work explores the integration of value frameworks in drug development, improving clinical trial design, and aligning incentives with outcomes that truly matter to patients.

In a time when the global cancer community faces immense ethical and logistical challenges, Dr. Bishal Gyawali’s voice is not just relevant, it is essential.

Yvonne Awards 2025: Honoring Global Oncology Leaders at ASCO’s Most Inspiring Night

Written by Nare Hovhannisyan, MD