ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Conquer Cancer^®, the ASCO Foundation, is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2026 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium Merit Awards.

These awards recognize first authors on top-ranking abstracts selected for presentation at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, February 26-28, 2026, in San Francisco, Calif.

These 27 oncology professionals are recognized for their respective field and research advancements within the cancer care community:   

Masoud Bitaraf, MD 
University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center 

Elise Cai, MD, PhD 
University of California, San Francisco 

Abigail Chu 
Saint Louis University School of Medicine 

Sara Coca Membribes, MD 
Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London 

Sophia Coraci, BS 
Weill Cornell Medicine 

Hedyeh Ebrahimi, MD, MPH 
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center 

Omar El-Taji, MBChB 
Christie Hospital 

Judith Fischer 
Doctoral Program Clinical Pharmacy, LMU University Hospital, LMU Munich 

Diya Garg, BS 
Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah 

Struan Gray, MBBCh 
Christie Hospital 

Jesus Juarez Casillas, MD 
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles 

Madeleine Karpinski 
University of Duisburg-Essen, and German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), NCT, University Hospital Essen 

Panayiotis Kontoyiannis, MD 
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center 

Joy Li, MD 
Fox Chase Cancer Center 

Jan-Jaap Mellema, MD 
Netherlands Cancer Institute 

Chiara Micoli 
Karolinska Institutet 

Zuzana Orszaghova, MD 
Comenius University and National Cancer Institute 

Justine Panian, MD 
University of California, San Diego 

Adeel Riaz, MD, MPhil 
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School 

Gabriel Roman Souza, MD 
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, University of South Florida 

Nicholas Salgia, BSc 
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center 

Koral Shah, MD 
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center 

Xiaolei Shi, MD, PhD 
University of Maryland School of Medicine 

Olesia Stativko, MD
City Clinical Hospital Named after S.S. Yudin, Moscow City Health Department 

Sarah Stewart 
The Institute of Cancer Research 

Hongwei Wang, MD 
National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 

Zachary Yochum, MD, PhD 
Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine 

Conquer Cancer donors help support these awards along with many other resources and programs for oncology professionals, patients, and the cancer community. Learn more.   

Supporters:   

The 2026 Conquer Cancer® Merit Awards are generously supported by Terri Armstrong, Chris Armstrong, and Mark Gilbert; ASCO Employees; AstraZeneca; Friends and Family of Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Beller; Dr. and Mrs. Douglas W. Blayney; Breast Cancer Research Foundation®; Bristol Myers Squibb; Vince D. Cataldo, MD; Jonathan K. and Cora Y. Cho Charitable Fund; Friends, Family, and Colleagues of Dr. Cecil "Pete" Coggins; Michael Craig Cox, PharmD, MHS, BCOP; Trailblazing patient Mark A. Crafts and Generous Supporters of Team Crafty; Bill and Karen Dahut; Allison Dray; Eisai Inc.; Estate of Darla C. Ellis; Epiphany Partners, Inc.; Flatiron Health, Inc.; GSK; Harborside; Friends, Colleagues, and Family of Joe Hogan; John Hohneker, MD and Donald Vincent; Melissa M. Hudson, MD, FASCO and Albert E. Weeks, MD; Kimberly Irvine; Drs. Kevin Kalinsky and Christopher Keir; Drs. Karen Knudsen and Brian Costello; Nicole M. Kuderer, MD and Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPH, FASCO; Natasha B. Leighl, MD, FASCO; William T. Leslie, MD; Lilly; Bora Lim, MD and Pavlos Msaouel, MD, PhD; Loxo Oncology Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company; Maryland/District of Columbia Society of Clinical Oncology; Friends and Colleagues of Theresa Mays; Melanoma Research Foundation; Estate of Mike Miller; Therese Marie Mulvey, MD, FASCO; Friends and Family of Dr. James B. Nachman; New Rhein Healthcare, LLC; Friends and Colleagues of Dr. Larry Norton; Dr. Kathleen Pritchard Medicine Professional Corporation; The QuadW Foundation; Gabrielle Betty Rocque, MD, MSPH; Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Frances A. Shepherd, MD, FASCO; Stephen A. Sherwin, MD; Drs. Rachna and Puneet Shroff; Dr. Walter and Mrs. Lisa Stadler; ASCO’s State Affiliate Council; Stemline, Inc, a Menarini Group Company; Supporters of Innovations and Research in Medical Education; Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Nizar M. Tannir, MD; Anthony and Marilyn Tolcher; Dr. Michael and Deborah Troner; and William S. Yaus, Jeffrey W. Yaus, and Kathleen Y. Wolin, ScD.

This listing is current as of February 20, 2026.