The 2025 iCMLf Prize is awarded to Professor Nicholas Anthony Othieno-Abinya, an eminent hemato-oncologist from Nairobi for his exceptional dedication to CML care in Kenya and beyond. This unique iCMLf award acknowledges individuals who have made outstanding contributions to improving CML treatment and care in low- and middle-income countries. Professor Abinya’s unwavering dedication to advancing CML care, his pioneering contributions to hematology and oncology in Kenya, and his commitment to mentoring future medical professionals make him a truly deserving recipient of this Prize.

“Prof. Abinya has overseen the most efficient medical access program in Africa, ensuring CML patients in Kenya have access to tyrosine kinase inhibitors since 2002. He remains the undisputed father of oncology in Kenya.”
- Peter Omondi Oyiro (Kenyatta National Hospital Teaching and Referral Hospital)

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The iCMLf Prizes
 
iCMLf Rowley Prize 

The Rowley Prize is awarded each year by the iCMLf to an individual who has made an outstanding lifetime contribution to our understanding of the biology of CML. The Rowley Prize was awarded for the first time in 2009 to Dr Brian Druker, followed by Dr Moshe Talpaz (2010), Dr John Goldman (2011), Dr George Q Daley (2012), Dr Connie Eaves (2013), Dr. Owen Witte (2014), Dr Rick Van Etten (2015), Professors John Groffen and Nora Heisterkamp (2016), Professor Tessa Holyoake (2017), Professor Nick Cross (2018), Professor Michael Deininger (2019), Professor Ravi Bhatia (2020), Professor Susan Branford (2021), Professor Oliver Hantschel (2022), Professor Jerry Radich (2023) and Professor Neil Shah (2024). 

Dr Janet Rowley kindly gave the iCMLf permission to name this prestigious award in her honour. Prior to her death in December 2013, Dr Rowley was the Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology and Human 
Genetics at the University of Chicago. In 1973 she made a seminal discovery in CML when she used newly developed chromosome banding techniques to show that the Philadelphia chromosome is formed by a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22. This discovery led to the eventual identification of the fusion gene BCR-ABL and ultimately to the development of targeted inhibitors of this leukemia-specific oncoprotein. This is one of many major contributions made by Dr Rowley and her team to our understanding of the molecular biology of leukemia and other cancers. She was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour awarded in the USA.

iCMLf Goldman Prize

The iCMLf Goldman Prize complements the Rowley Prize as a clinical equivalent by recognising lifetime contributions to the management of patients with CML. This award has been created in memory of the late iCMLf chair, John Goldman, to honour his commitment to clinical excellence in treating CML. John Goldman was an outstanding scientist with a worldwide recognition and a leading figure in CML research. During his career of over 40 years he made major contribution to the understanding of the biology and the treatment of CML. He made seminal contributions to a variety of breakthroughs in CML research particularly in the field of stem cell transplantation, in the clinical development of new therapies and in the advancements of diagnostics. He was the first to demonstrate the presence of stem cells in the peripheral blood of CML patients and their potential role in autografting patients with CML. He also pioneered allogeneic stem cell transplant for CML in Europe. John Goldman played a distinctive and visionary role for the iCMLf as one of its co-founders and sitting chair at the time of his death. The Goldman Prize was awarded for the first time in 2014 to Professor Rüdiger Hehlmann, he was followed by Michele Bacarrani (2015), Professor Hagop Kantarjian (2016), Professor Tim Hughes (2017), Professor Jorge Cortes (2018), Professor François-Xavier Mahon (2019), Professor Jane Apperley (2020), Professor Giuseppe Saglio (2021), Professor Andreas Hochhaus (2022), Professor François Guilhot (2023) and Professor Jeff Lipton (2024).

iCMLf Prize

In 2015 the iCMLf introduced a new prize. The iCMLf Prize is awarded annually by the iCMLf to recognise outstanding contributions to the improvement of CML treatment in the emerging economic regions. The iCMLf Prize was formerly named the ERSAP (Emerging Regions Support and Partnership Prize) and was first awarded in 2015 to Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, CEO of The Max Foundation. She was followed by Associate Professor Susan Branford in 2016, Professor Jerry Radich (2017), Professor Hemant Malhotra (2018), Dr Carolina Pavlovsky (2019), Dr Sabira Kurtovic (2020) Dr Damira Bayzakova (2021), Giora Sharf & Jan Geissler (2022), Kostyantyn Kotlyarchuk & Iryna Dyagil (2023) and Viji Venkatesh (2024).

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The 2024 iCMLf Rowley Prize is awarded to Professor Neil P Shah

The iCMLf is delighted to announce that Professor Neil P Shah, the Edward S. Ageno Distinguished Professor in Hematology/Oncology and a Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (USA) has been awarded the 2024 Rowley Prize. Professor Shah's remarkable career trajectory and pioneering translational research, deeply rooted in molecular studies, has significantly contributed to our understanding of molecular mechanisms of resistance to TKI therapy and has led to vital breakthroughs in the development of treatment strategies to overcome resistance.

The iCMLf Rowley Prize named after Dr Janet Rowley recognises individuals who have made exceptional lifetime achievements in advancing the understanding of the biology of CML.

‘His research demonstrated how molecular insight into TKI resistance could guide the development and design of second generation TKI’s. Neil’s translational studies let to the clinical investigation and approval of dasatinib as well as the approval of reduced toxicity, once daily dosing of dasatinib. He also showed that sequential TKI therapy selects for compound BCR::ABL1 kinase domain mutations that can alter the resistance profile of mutants. Neil is a very worthy winner and I congratulate him on his achievements’ (Professor Susan Branford)

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The 2024 iCMLf Goldman Prize is awarded to Professor Jeff H Lipton

In acknowledgment of his remarkable contributions to advancing clinical practice in CML, Professor Jeff H Lipton has been awarded the 2024 Goldman Prize. Professor Lipton is a world-renowned thought leader in CML, bone marrow failure syndromes as well as allogeneic stem cell transplant with a profound impact on patient care and advocacy. Until his retirement in December 2023, Jeff Lipton was Clinical Investigator at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto in Canada.

The iCMLf Goldman Prize honors individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication and achievements in the management and treatment of CML.

‘Jeff has devoted his long-standing career to the care of CML patients.
Recognition with the iCMLf Goldman Prize is well deserved’ (Professor Franck Nicolini)

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