2022 Breast Cancer Trials Award Winners

The Breast Cancer Trials Gold Medal

The Breast Cancer Trials Gold Medal recognises the outstanding efforts and achievements of a member of BCT, who has played an instrumental role in the development of breast cancer clinical trials research in this region. Past recipients have been: John Forbes, Alan Coates, Raymond Snyder, Linda Reaby and Martin Tattersall.

The 2022 Gold Medal recipient is Professor Prue Francis.

Prue has been a member of Breast Cancer Trials (BCT) for more than 25 years and has made an enormous contribution to our organisation and to improved outcomes for women with breast cancer, both nationally and internationally. She is a leader in breast cancer clinical trials, evidence-based research and clinical implementation.

Earlier this year, Prue was awarded an AM in the Australia Day Honours for significant service to medical research in the field of oncology and education, which is wonderful recognition for an extraordinary career.

Prue is a Medical Oncologist at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne and the Head of Breast Medical Oncology at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Prue was the Chair of the BCT Scientific Advisory Committee from 2017-2021 and Deputy Chair from 2012-2017. In this role she oversaw the development and roll-out of many investigator-initiated clinical trials in breast cancer and provided abundant practical support and vital scientific input into the breast cancer research activities of others.

Prue Chaired the International Steering Committee responsible for the SOFT and TEXT clinical trials and was the senior author of the publications. This research produced practice-changing results and showed that the aromatase inhibitor, exemestane, is more effective than tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer recurrence in young women who also receive ovarian function suppression. It is research that has saved lives and will continue to do so in the future.

She is also a Steering Committee Member of the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG), a member of the Advanced Breast Cancer International Consensus panel, and a member of the St Gallen Primary Breast Cancer International Consensus Panel. In 2015 she was awarded the Medical Oncology Group of Australia Cancer Achievement Award.

The Alan Coates Award for Excellence in Clinical Trials Research

The Alan Coates Award for Excellence in Clinical Trials Research recognises an individual member of BCT who has made an outstanding contribution to BCT’s clinical trials research program and aims to assist the recipient in their professional development.

The 2022 recipient is Associate Professor Nicholas Wilcken.

Nicholas was elected to the BCT Board of Directors in 2016. He was the Chair of the BCT’s Scientific Advisory Committee from 2011 to March 2017.

He is the Director of Medical Oncology at the Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre Westmead, and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney.

Nicholas was the BCT Study Chair of the HERA clinical trial, which proved the benefits of Herceptin and changed practice for women with HER2-positive breast cancer.

The Robert Sutherland Award for Excellence in Translational Research

The Robert Sutherland Award for Excellence in Translational Research recognises Translational Researchers and their achievements and contributions to improved patient outcomes as well as scientific excellence.

The 2022 recipient is Professor Laura Esserman.

Laura is Professor of Surgery and Radiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and director of the UCSF Breast Care Clinic.

Her work in breast cancer spans the spectrum from basic science to public policy issues, and the impact of both on the delivery of clinical care. She is recognized as a thought leader in cancer screening and over-diagnosis, as well as innovative clinical trial design.

Laura led the creation of the University of California-wide Athena Breast Health Network, a learning system designed to integrate clinical care and research as it follows 150,000 women from screening through treatment and outcomes. The Athena Network launched the PCORI-funded Wisdom Study, which tests a personalized approach to breast cancer screening in 100,000 women.

She is also a leader of the innovative I-SPY TRIAL model, designed to accelerate the identification and approval of effective new agents for women with high risk breast cancers. In 2020 she got FDA approval for an I-SPY Covid trial, designed to rapidly screen and confirm high impact treatments to reduce mortality and time on ventilators.

The John Collins Medal and Travel Grant

This grant was established to encourage potential academic breast surgeons to become involved in clinical trials research.

The 2022 recipient is Dr Yang Yang Huang.

Yang Yang is a fellow at Westmead Breast Cancer Institute in Sydney.

Education Travel Grants

Our Education Travel Grants recognise study coordinators and junior clinicians who are unable to access institutional or other funding to attend the Annual Scientific Meeting.

2022 recipients are: Amy McCart Reed, Andrew Parsonson, Anna Cannon, Antonia Busby, Antonia Pearson, Christine Mooney, Claudia Quinn, Joanne Packer, Joanna Parr, Katherine Francis, Rochelle Jones, Smitha Sithara, Sofia Mason and Tahlia Connor.