›Simon M. Shubitz Cancer Prize and Lectureship

Simon M. Shubitz Cancer Prize and Lectureship

Simon Shubitz

Since 1978, the Simon M. Shubitz Cancer Prize and Lectureship has recognized excellence in cancer research and brought to the University of Chicago internationally respected scientists who have made significant contributions to the study of cancer. The award is named in honor of Simon M. Shubitz, MD, a distinguished alumnus known for his dedication as a physician and his efforts as a humanitarian and philanthropist.

While originally presented biannually, the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation now present the award annually.

“The truly great physician is the one who meticulously searches, teaches, and heals. That ideal physician is the true Laureate of Medicine from whom we can learn, and whose presence will inspire us all.”

– Simon M. Shubitz, MD

2020 Shubitz Award Recipient

Otis Brawley

Otis W. Brawley, SB’81, MD’85 is the Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, the former chief medical and scientific officer of the American Cancer Society and a world-renowned cancer expert working to close racial, economic and social disparities in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer.

Brawley’s research focuses on developing cancer screening strategies and ensuring their effectiveness. He has championed efforts to decrease smoking and implement other lifestyle risk reduction programs, as well as to provide critical support to cancer patients and concentrate cancer control efforts in areas where they could be most effective. Brawley currently leads a broad interdisciplinary research effort on cancer health disparities at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, striving to close racial, economic, and social disparities in the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer in the United States and worldwide. He also directs community outreach programs for underserved populations throughout Maryland.


  • Past Recipients

    2020 – Richard Pazdur, MD, director of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Oncology Center of Excellence
    2019 – Laura Esserman, MD, MBA, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
    2018 – Michael Caliguiri, MD, City of Hope, Duarte, California
    2017 – Arul M. Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, University of Michigan
    2016 – James R. Downing, MD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee
    2015 – Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, Meyer Cancer Center, New York
    2014 – Nancy Davidson, MD, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Center
    2013 – Todd Golub, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Mass.
    2012 – Joe Gray, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University, Knight Cancer Institute, Portland
    2011 – Charles L. Sawyers, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York
    2010 – Irving L. Weissman, MD, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
    2009 – Margaret R. Spitz, MD, MPH, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
    2008 – Brian J. Druker, MD, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland
    2007 – Craig B. Thompson, MD, Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
    2006 – Tyler E. Jacks, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, Mass.
    2005 – Stephen B. Baylin, MD, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md.
    2004 – Ronald M. Evans, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, La Jolla, Calif.
    2003 – Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS. University of California, San Francisco
    2002 – John Mendelsohn, MD, The University of Texas, Houston
    2001 – Peter A. Jones, PhD, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
    2000 – Alexander Varshavsky, PhD, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
    1999 – Mary Claire King, MD, University of Washington, Seattle
    1998 – Albert de la Chapelle, MD, PhD, The Ohio State University, Columbus
    1997 – Stanley J. Korsmeyer, MD, Washington University, Saint Louis
    1996 – Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD, University of California, San Francisco
    1995 – Arnold J. Levine, PhD, Princeton University, N.J.
    1994 – Raymond L. White, PhD, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
    1993 – Michael B. Sporn, MD, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
    1992 – Leland H. Hartwell, PhD, University of Washington, Seattle
    1991 – Lance A. Liotta, MD, PhD, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
    1990 – Robert T. Schimke, MD, Stanford University, Calif.
    1989 – Robert A. Weinberg, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
    1988 – Steven Rosenberg, MD, PhD, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
    1987 – Thomas A. Waldmann, MD, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
    1986 – Philip Leder, MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston
    1985 – Robert C. Gallo, MD, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
    1984 – Harold E. Varmus, MD, University of California, San Francisco
    1982 – Judah Folkman, MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston
    1980 – Peter C. Nowell, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
    1978 – Bruce N. Ames, PhD, University of California, Berkeley


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