Early Career Scientist Awards

To promote growth and achievement amongst young investigators in the field of cancer biologics and to recognize excellence in the oral abstract and poster presentations submitted to the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) Annual Meeting, SITC offers the Young Investigator Awards.

For the SITC Presidential Travel Awards, four abstracts submitted in any category and authored by young investigators were selected for oral presentation during the Presidential Session of the SITC Annual Meeting. Those presenting authors not selected for the SITC Presidential Award will receive a SITC Presidential Travel Award in recognition of their achievement.

SITC Travel Awards are given to a select number young investigators who submitted an abstract for the SITC Annual Meeting. The abstracts are judged by a committee of SITC leadership and SITC Annual Meeting organizers.

For an annual listing of recipients, click the links below:

Presidential Travel Awards	Abstract Travel Awards
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009	2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

2021 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Rodney Cheng-En Hsieh, MD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Anand Kornepati
UT Health San Antonio

Taylor Wilson
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Andrea Ziblat, PhD
University of Chicago

2020 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Defne Bayik, PhD
Cleveland Clinic

Emily Han-Chung Hsiue, MD
John Hopkins School of Medicine

Nils-Petter Rudqvist, PhD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Michal Sheffer, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

2019 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Shelley Herbrich, MS
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Vyara Matson, PhD
University of Chicago

Elizabeth R. Stirling, PhD candidate
Wake Forest University

Erik Wennerberg, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine

2018 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Gabriel Abril-Rodriguez, MS
University of California,
Los Angeles

Kristin G. Anderson, PhD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center

Yu Cao, PhD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer
Center & Research Institute

Hiroshi Yano, BS
University of Pittsburgh

2017 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Vinod Balachandran, MD*
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Brendan MacNabb
University of Chicago

Ashvin R. Jaiswal, MS
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Sangeetha M. Reddy, MD, MSci
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

2016 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Jonathan Peled, MD, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Nicole Scharping
University of Pittsburgh

David Woods, PhD
NYU Langone Medical Center

Roberta Zappasodi, PhD*
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

2015 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Amir Al-Khami, PhD
Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

David Clever*
National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health

Dan Erkes
Thomas Jefferson University

Alena Gros, PhD
National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health - Surgery Branch

2014 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Sema Kurtulus, PhD
Center for Neurologic Diseases
Brigham & Women's Hospital

Marcela Maus, MD, PhD
University of Pennsylvania

Stefani Spranger, PhD
University of Chicago

Paul Thevenot, PhD
Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

2013 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Cara Haymaker, PhD
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Ileana S. Mauldin, PhD
University of Virginia

Paulo C. Rodriguez, PhD*
LSUHSC - Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center

Seng-Ryong Woo, PhD
University of Chicago

2012 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Cesar Evaristo, PhD
University of Chicago

Nathan Singh
University of Pennsylvania

Madhusudhanan Sukumar, PhD*
National Cancer Institute

Claire Vanpouille-Box, PhD
New York University

2011 SITC Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Joshua Brody, MD*
Stanford University Medical Center

Lenka V. Hurton
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Lorenzo Uccellini, PhD
National Institutes of Health

Yan Zheng, PhD
University of Chicago

2010 iSBTc Presidential Travel Award Recipients

Michael A. Curran, PhD*
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Evripidis Lanitis
University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine

Chao Ma, MS
California Institute of Technology

Robbert Spaapen, PhD
University of Chicago

2009 iSBTc Presidential Travel Award Recipients

David M. Barrett, MD, PhD
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Sid Kerkar, MD
National Cancer Institute, NIH

Justin P. Kline, MD
University of Chicago

Weiyi Peng, MD, PhD*
MD Anderson Cancer Center

2021 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Margaret L. Axelrod Vanderbilt University	Amira Barkal, MD, PhD Brigham and Women's Hospital	Akash R. Boda, MS The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Kyle R. Cron University of Chicago
Ellen Duong Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT	Myrna G. Garcia UT Health San Antonio	Shengqing Gu, PhD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	Harshita Gupta UT Health San Antonio
Alexa R. Heaton, PhD Morgridge Institute for Research and University of Wisconsin	Emily Higgs University of Chicago	Brendan L. Horton, PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Caroline S. Jansen Emory University
Priyamvada Jayapraka, PhD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Sabina Kaczanow, PhD National Cancer Institute	Emily Z. Keung, MD, MA The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Jessica Lake, MD, MPH University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Rebecca C. Larson Jounce Therapeutics	Arthur J. Liu The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Teresa Manzo, PhD IEO	Yuki Muroyama, MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine
Giacomo Oliveira, PhD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	Abigail E. Overacre-Delgoffe, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Athanasios Papadas UC San Diego	Ronal M. Peralta University of Pittsburgh
Nataliya Prokhnevska Emory University	Shuyang S. Qin, MS University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry	Sruthi Ravindranathan, PhD, MS Emory University	Robert Saddawi-Konefka, MD, PhD UC San Diego School of Medicine
Nicole E. Scharping, PhD University of California San Diego	John-William Sidhom, MD, PhD Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine	Yupeng Wang University of Pittsburgh	Natalie K. Wolf University of California Berkeley
Maria Zagorulya Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Jiajia Zhang, MD, MPH Johns Hopkins University

2020 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Hussein A. Abbas, MD, PhD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Xue Bai, MD Peking University Cancer Hospital and MGH	Todd Bartkowiak, PhD Vanderbilt University	Isaac S. Chan, MD, PhD John Hopkins University
Andrew Chow, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	Diego de Miguel Perez, PhD University of Maryland	Diana Campbell DeLucia, PhD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center	Kristen DePeaux University of Pittsburgh
Anushka Dongre, PhD Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research	Ellen Duong Koch Institute	Elizabeth A. R. Garfinkle The University of Tennessee Health Science Center	Erica T. Goddard, PhD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Brendan L. Horton, PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Bryan Iorgulescu, MD, FCAP Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	Peter Sanghyun Kim, PhD National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health	Dhiraj Kumar, PhD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Roger Li, MD H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center	Kyle B. Lupo Purdue University	Abigail E. Overacre-Delgoffe, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Kartik Sehgal, MD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Fyza Y. Shaikh, MD, PhD Johns Hopkins School of Medicine	Natasha D. Sheybani, PhD University of Virginia	Alvaro Teijeira CIMA (Center for Applied Medical Research) University of Navarre	Megan Tennant Medical University of South Carolina
Jonas Van Audenaerde, MSc University of Antwerp	Paolo Dario Angelo Vignali The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine	Wang Chao, PhD H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center	McLane Watson University of Pittsburgh
Adam Widman, MD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	Michelle M. Williams, PhD University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus	Yi-Ru Yu, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

2019 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Reham Ajina, MS Georgetown University	Emily Chiu University of Minnesota	Sofia Bruni, MS Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental – CONICET	Anthony R. Cillo, PhD University of Pittsburgh
Luis F. Campesato, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	John S. Davies, PhD National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health	Smita S. Chandran, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	Ellen Duong Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Xiufen Chen, PhD University of Chicago	Blake Flood University of Chicago	Caroline S. Jansen Emory University	Zoila A. Lopez Bujanda, MS Columbia University
Md Abdul Wadud Khan, PhD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Lauren E. Milling Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Giuseppe Lamberti, MD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	Bhalchandra Mirlekar, PhD University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Claire Lhuillier, PhD Weill Cornell Medical College	Abigail E. Overacre- Delgoffe, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Shamin Li, PhD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center	Shuyang S. Qin University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
Shuyin Li, PhD University of Chicago	Jessica Roelands, MS Sidra Medical Research Center	Rosalyn W. Sayaman, PhD City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center	McLane Watson University of Pittsburgh
Nicole E. Scharping, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Richard C. Wu, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh Medical Center	Chensu Wang, PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Nuo Xu, MS University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jiao Wang, PhD Purdue University	Fan Zhang, PhD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

2018 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Lawrence Andrews, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Christopher A. Chuckran University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine	Ellen Duong Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Colt Egelston, PhD Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope
Beth Helmink, MD, PhD The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer	Priyamvada Jayaprakash, PhD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Daniel H. Johnson, MD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Anusha Kalbasi, MD University of California, Los Angeles
Chang Liu, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Alak Manna, PhD Mayo Clinic	Teresa Manzo, PhD European Institute of Oncology, Milan	Ileana S. Mauldin, PhD University of Virginia
Ravi Patel, MD, PhD University of Wisconsin	Sangeetha Reddy, MD, MSci University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Aaron M. Ring, MD, PhD Yale University School of Medicine	Dayana B. Rivadeneira, PhD University of Pittsburgh
Jessica Roelands Sidra Medical Research Center	Alexander I. Salter, BS Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center	Nicole E. Scharping, BS University of Pittsburgh	Meenu Sharma, PhD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Eugene Shenderov, MD, PhD Johns Hopkins Hospital	John-William Sidhom Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine	Kellie N. Smith, PhD Johns Hopkins School of Medicine	Ashwin Somasundaram, MD University of Pittsburgh
Davis Y. Torrejon, MD UCLA Hematology- Oncology Department	Joshua R. Veatch, MD, PhD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center	Jiao Wang, PhD Purdue University	McLane Watson, BS University Of Pittsburgh
Jiajia Zhang, MD, MPH Johns Hopkins University

2017 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Daniel Abate-Daga, PhD H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute	Angela Boroughs Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard University	Zinal Chheda, PhD University of California, San Francisco	Daniel Davila-Gonzalez Houston Methodist
Dana Emerson Oregon Health & Science University	Dan A. Erkes, PhD Thomas Jefferson University	Jennifer Guerriero, PhD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	Cara Haymaker, PhD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Tyler Hulett Earle A. Chiles Research Institute	Steve Seung-Young Lee, PhD University of Chicago	Thomas Marron, MD, PhD Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai	Vyara Matson, PhD University of Chicago
Marit Melssen University of Virginia	Maria Ormhoj, MSc University of Southern Denmark Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School	Abigail Overacre-Delgoffe University of Pittsburgh	Mellissa Nixon, PhD Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Kelly Paulson, MD, PhD Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center	Weiyi Peng, MD, PhD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Dayana Rivadeneira, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Irene Scarfò, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital
Elizabeth Sturgill, PhD Providence Portland Medical Center	Jessica Thaxton, PhD, MSCR Medical University of South Carolina	Evanthia Roussos Torres, MD, PhD Johns Hopkins University	Geeta Upadhyay, PhD Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Georgetown University Medical Center
Claire Vanpouille-Box, PhD Weill Cornell Medicine	McLane Watson University of Pittsburgh	Spencer Wei, PhD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Erik Wennerberg, PhD Weill Cornell Medicine

2016 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Ephraim A. Ansa-Addo, PhD, MSB Medical University of South Carolina	Cristina Bergamaschi, PhD National Cancer Institute at Frederick	Tullia C. Bruno, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Fanny Chapelin, MS University of California San Diego
Natalie Collins, MD, PhD Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	Cara Haymaker, PhD University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center	Tyler Hulett Providence Cancer Center	Michael Klichinsky, PharmD Center for Cellular Immunotherapies University of Pennsylvania
Daniel Landi, MD Center for Gene & Cell Therapy Baylor College of Medicine	Thomas Mace, PhD Ohio State University	Kathleen M. Mahoney, MD, PhD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Dana-Farber Cancer Institute	Adam W. Mailloux, PhD H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
Melinda Mata, PhD Center for Gene & Cell Therapy Baylor College of Medicine	Alessandra Metelli Medical University of South Carolina	Nicholas Minutolo University of Pennsylvania	John Mullinax, MD H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
Sukhmani K. Padda, MD Stanford University School of Medicine	Jonathan Schoenfeld, MD, MPH Brigham and Women's Hospital Dana-Farber Cancer Center	Tala Shekarian UCBL1 Centre Léon Bérard	John-William Sidhom Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Stefani Spranger, PhD University of Chicago	Randy F. Sweis, MD University of Chicago	Marie-Nicole Theodoraki, MD University of Pittsburgh	Katy Tsai, MD University of California San Francisco
Claire Vanpouille-Box, PhD Weill Cornell Medicine	Jessica Wenthe Uppsala University	Jason B. Williams University of Chicago

2015 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Midan Ai, PhD University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center	Challice Bonifant, MD, PhD University of Michigan	Greg Delgoffe, PhD University of Pittsburgh	Christopher DeRenzo, MD Baylor College of Medicine
Matthew Farren, PhD James Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University	Danny Khalil, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	Gary Kohanbash, PhD University of California San Francisco	Giedre Krenciute, PhD Baylor College of Medicine
Ileana Mauldin, PhD University of Virginia	Zachary S. Morris, MD, PhD University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health	Douglas Palmer, PhD National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health - Surgery Branch	Anna Pasetto, PhD National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health - Surgery Branch
Alexandre Reuben, PhD University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center	Gabrielle Romain, PhD University of Houston	Manisha Singh, PhD University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center	Sanja Stevanović, PhD National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health - Surgery Branch
Madhusudhanan Sukumar, PhD National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health - Surgery Branch	Siri Tähtinen. MSc Cancer Gene Therapy Group, Medicum, Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki	Li Tang, PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Richard Tavare, PhD University of California Los Angeles
Rieneke van de Ven, PhD VU University Medical Center, Cancer Center Amsterdam	Claire Vanpouille-Box, PhD Weill Cornell Medical College	Kipp Weiskopf, MPhil Stanford University School of Medicine	Erik Wennerberg, PhD Weill Cornell Medical College
Jason B. Williams University of Chicago	Katherine Woods, PhD Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute

2014 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Jason R. Baird, PhD Providence Portland Medical Center	Tiara Byrd, B.S. Baylor College of Medicine	Emily K. Curran, MD University of Chicago	Julie Diamond, B.S. NYU School of Medicine
Yared Hailemichael, PhD University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center	Dewan Md Sakib Hossain, PhD City of Hope	Gary Kohanbash, PhD University of California-San Francisco	Sara Labiano, MSc Center for Applied Medical Research
Jing Li Department of Pharmacy School of Medicine Tsinghua University China	Douglas C. Palmer, PhD National Cancer Institute	Michael Postow, MD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	Emanuela Romano, MD, PhD University Hospital of Lausanne
Ayelet Sivan University of Colorado	Eric Tran, PhD National Institutes of Health/ National Cancer Institute	Nicholas Tschernia, B.S. Pediatric Oncology Branch National Cancer Institute	Claire Vanpouille-Box, PhD New York University School of Medicine

2013 SITC Abstract Travel Award Recipients

Helen K. Angell, PhD
INSERM

Christian S. Hinrichs, MD
National Cancer Institute, Surgery Branch

Sander Kelderman, MD
NKI-AVL

Karsten A. Pilones, MD, PhD
NYU School of Medicine

David Schaer, PhD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Anil Shanker, PhD
Meharry Medical College/Vanderbilt-Ingram Comprehensive Cancer Center

2012 SITC Abstract Travel Awards Recipients

Maria Libera Ascierto, PhD National Institutes of Health	Michael Postow, MD Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center	David Rushworth MD Anderson Cancer Center	Huimin Tao University of Michigan
Seng-Ryong Woo, PhD University of Chicago	Yan Yang MD Anderson Cancer Center

2011 SITC Travel Award Recipients

Jessica A. Chacon
University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Drew Deniger
University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Evripidis Lanitis
University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine

Petra Prinz, PhD
Institute of Molecular Immunology

Emanuela Romano, MD
University of Lausanne

Seng-Ryong Woo, PhD
University of Chicago

2010 iSBTc Travel Award Recipients

Maria Libera Ascierto National Institutes of Health, CC, DTM	Davide Bedognetti, MD National Institutes of Health, CC, DTM	Arianna Calcinotto San Raffaele Scientific Institute	Mitsugu Fujita, MD, PhD University of Pittsburgh
Pawel Muranski, MD National Cancer Institute – CCR	Julie Urban University of Pittsburgh

2009 iSBTc Travel Award Recipients

Andrea Facciabene, PhD
University of Pennsylvania

Weiqing Jing
Medical College of Wisconsin

Christy Ralph
Paterson Institute for Cancer Research

Maria Grazia Ruocco, PhD
New York University - School of Medicine, Skirball Institute

Jochen Schaefer, MD
University of Virginia

Ryan Sullivan, MD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

*Denotes Presidential Award recipient