Lymphoma Research Foundation to Honor MSK’s Anas Younes at September Gala

The Lymphoma Research Foundation will honor Anas Younes, an oncologist and lymphoma expert at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center, with its Distinguished Leadership Award next month at the nonprofit’s annual gala.

The LRF ceremony, set for Sept. 26 in New York City, coincides with National Blood Cancer Awareness Month. The event brings together key leaders of the lymphoma community for a night of celebration and tribute, and is a major fundraising source for the organization.

Genentech will receive the Corporate Leadership Award in recognition of its pioneering work in lymphoma drug development and patient outcomes, and for its near decade of support for LSF research initiatives and educational programs.

An expert in both Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Younes is the cancer center’s special advisor to the chief of medicine for research, and holds the Steven Greenberg Chair. A former Scientific Advisory Board member with the foundation, Younes will be cited for his longtime backing of LRF, his dedication to patients and their families, and his successes in disease study and clinical care.

”We are excited to honor Dr. Younes with the Distinguished Leadership Award,” Michael Werner, chair of the LRF board of director, said a news release. “His accomplishments in lymphoma research and in the clinic have impacted the treatment landscape and led to lasting impact on patient outcomes. In addition to his groundbreaking research and outstanding clinical care, Dr. Younes has been instrumental in steering the foundation’s research initiatives, helping to insure that the next generation of scientists enter and remain in the lymphoma field.”

Previously, Younes spent six years as chief of MSK’s lymphoma service. He joined MSK in 2013 after two decades in lymphoma care and studies at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

“I am truly honored to be involved with the Lymphoma Research Foundation and to be recognized with the Distinguished Leadership Award,” Younes said. “The foundation is critical to helping advance research and improved therapies for lymphoma patients, and empowering patients through education.”

Younes has served as chief investigator of several clinical trials, and played a key role in the development of Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin), by Seattle Genetics, the first federally approved targeted compound for the treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma in more than three decades. He also was instrumental in developing Opdivo (nivolumab; by Bristol-Myers Squibb), lymphoma’s first immune checkpoint inhibitor.

While at MSK and Anderson, Younes also steered National Cancer Institute-funded Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) programs, focused on developing new approaches to prevent, detect and treat lymphoma. While a foundation board member, he mentored LRF grantees, and personally sponsored a novice researcher.

He was grand marshal of the 2018 New York Lymphoma Walk to raise money for LRF and disease awareness. He also was the first physician to engage in LRF’s Social Media Chats, a digital educational forum for those touched by lymphoma, and he continues to contribute to patient education efforts.

More information on the gala is available by calling Taylor Zitay Kahn at 646-465-9103, or sending an email message to tzitay@lymphoma.org. Go here to register. The event will include clinicians, investigators, patients, survivors, healthcare providers, volunteers, and LRF members.

The LRF to date has given more than $62 million in support of lymphoma research, and provides education programs, outreach initiatives and patient services.