Bradley Bernstein, MD, PhD, A. Thomas Look, MD, and William R. Sellers, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have been elected as Fellows of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Academy Class of 2025. The mission of the Fellows of the AACR Academy is to recognize and honor extraordinary scientists whose groundbreaking contributions have driven significant innovation and progress in the fight against cancer.
Fellows of the AACR Academy serve as a global brain trust of top contributors to cancer science and medicine, helping to advance the mission of the AACR to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research.
"We are very proud to announce the election of 33 new Fellows of the AACR Academy. These remarkable individuals represent a diverse array of scientific disciplines and have made transformative contributions to cancer research," said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR.
Bernstein is chair of Cancer Biology at Dana-Farber, where he holds the Richard and Nancy Lubin Family Chair. The AACR has recognized his seminal contributions to cancer epigenetics, including the discovery of bivalent chromatin domains that regulate developmental gene activation and the role of IDH mutations in disrupting chromosomal topology, resulting in the establishment of new mechanisms by which to characterize tumors and optimize therapeutic strategies.
The AACR Academy honored Look, associate physician at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, for revolutionary discoveries pertaining to the molecular pathogenesis of leukemia, lymphoma, and neuroblastoma, including identifying novel oncogenes such E2A-HLF and NPM-ALK; for elucidating oncogene-driven signaling pathways; and for developing transgenic zebrafish models to identify new molecular targets for childhood cancers.
Sellers, a professor of medicine at Dana-Farber, was recognized for vital contributions to cancer genomics and drug discovery, including co-discovering EGFR mutations in lung cancer, discovering the role of MITF as a lineage oncogene in melanoma, leading the development of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia initiative, and advancing over 35 cancer therapeutics into clinical trials, effectively revolutionizing precision medicine for a diverse array of cancer types.
All newly elected Fellows of the AACR Academy will be formally recognized during the opening ceremony of the AACR Annual Meeting 2025 on Sunday, April 27.
