Alexandria, Va. – Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation, is pleased to announce Carolyn D. Runowicz, MD, FASCO, is the Hologic, Inc. Endowed Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award recipient and María Teresa Bourlon, MD, MS, is the 2023 International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award recipient. 

The 2023 Women Who Conquer Cancer (WWCC) Mentorship Awards recognize female leaders in oncology who are role models and mentors to women training to be cancer clinicians, educators, or researchers. WWCC supports and celebrates the women dedicated to advancing the discoveries of oncology’s emerging female leaders. 

The honorees, who were selected from a remarkable group of nominees, will be recognized during the ASCO Annual Meeting, June 2 - 6, 2023. ASCO will also honor Special Award Recipients who have worked to transform cancer care around the world. 

Hologic, Inc. Endowed Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award   

Dr. Runowicz is a tenured professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She is a nationally and internationally recognized leader in women's health and gynecologic cancer. Her research has focused on the development, initiation, and conduct of clinical trials in gynecologic cancer and in cancer prevention. She has authored more than 200 scientific articles and 5 books. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the 2018 Distinguished Service Award by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology. She is also the recipient of the University of Connecticut Distinguished Alumni Award, the American Medical Women's Association Local Legend Award, Cancer Care Physician of the Year Award, and many others.

Dr. Runowicz serves as a role model and mentor for faculty, residents, and students. She has served leadership roles in major cancer organizations: Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (2011-2015) member as the first gynecologic oncologist, served as the first woman president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists (2000), was president of American Cancer Society (2005), and served on the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), appointed by president George W. Bush. She served as chair of the NCAB for 4 years (2006-2010). Dr. Runowicz completed two terms as vice president of the American Gynecological and Obstetrical Foundation Board. She has initiated and led many innovative clinical trials in the development of novel therapies for gynecologic cancers.   

International Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award   

Dr. Bourlon is a medical oncologist, associate professor, and head of the Urologic Oncology Clinic at Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán. She is also the director of the Genitourinary Cancers Program for Medical Oncologists at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She was a 2013 ASCO International Development & Education Award (IDEA) Awardee and 2018 JCO-GO Editorial Fellow Awardee. Her investigator-initiated research and participation in clinical trials has focused on genitourinary cancers.

Dr. Bourlon mentors medical school junior research fellows, medical oncology fellows, former oncologists training in urologic oncology, and has served as thesis director for graduate students. She has served as mentor for the Women's Networking Center at the ASCO Annual Meeting, is a member of the ASCO Global Oncology Task Force, and is a JCO GO Editorial Fellowship Mentor. She is the ambassador of the Oncofertility Consortium in Mexico and, has served as faculty of ESMO LATAM, ESO Latin America, and the ASCO Annual Meeting and ASCO GU Symposium.   

WWCC Mentorship Award Nominees 

We celebrate the women who were nominated for the 2023 WWCC Mentorship Awards: 

Efrat Dotan, MD
Fox Chase Cancer Center 

Sharon Giordano, MD, MPH, FASCO
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center 

Nabanita Mandal, BC
Narikeldaha Prayas NGO in West Bengal  

Michelle Mierzwa, MD
University of Michigan 

Bhuvaneswari Ramaswamy, MD
Ohio State University 

Kathleen Schmeler, MD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center 

Vered Stearns, MD, FASCO 
Johns Hopkins University

Cornelia Ulrich, PhD, MS
Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah 

Ines Vaz-Luis, MD, PhD
Gustave Roussy 

Gerburg Wulf, MD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

2023 Award Support

The 2023 ASCO and Conquer Cancer WWCC Mentorship Awards are supported by:

Bristol Myers Squibb; Eisai Inc.; Hologic, Inc.; Novartis Oncology

This list reflects donors as of March 21, 2023.