Three Special Awards at 2026 IKCS: Europe
The Kidney Cancer Association will recognize three outstanding leaders in kidney cancer during the 2026 International Kidney Cancer Symposium: Europe, taking place in Paris, France on April 16-18.
Professor John Haanen
Professor John Haanen will receive receives the Nicholas J. Vogelzang Humanitarian Award, named in honor of the KCA’s late co-founder and board member, for outstanding service and compassion to his patients, colleagues, and the wider kidney cancer community.
Haanen is a consultant medical oncologist, scientific group leader, CSO Immunotherapy, and Director of the Center for Cellular Therapy at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam, and Professor of Translational Immunotherapy of Cancer at Leiden University Medical Center since 2008. He also serves as Head of the Melanoma Clinic at CHUV in Lausanne (one day per week). His research focuses on cellular therapies for solid tumors, neoadjuvant immunotherapies, and biomarker development, with clinical expertise in melanoma, skin cancers, kidney cancer, and immune-related adverse events. He has co-authored over 500 publications, is Editor-in-Chief of ESMO IOTECH, served as Scientific Co-Chair of the ESMO IO Symposium/Congress (2016–2019) and Scientific Chair of the ESMO 2020 Congress, and has been a member of the CCMO since 2018.
Professor Samra Turajlić
Professor Samra Turajlić will receive the KCA’s Pieter de Mulder Award recognizing oncologists who have made significant contributions to the treatment of kidney cancer.
Turajlić is Director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute and a leader in melanoma and kidney cancer research. Previously a Consultant Medical Oncologist at the Royal Marsden, her work focuses on tumour evolution, metastasis, and therapy resistance. She became an independent Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute in 2019 and is a CRUK Advanced Clinician Scientist. Turajlić serves as Faculty Lead for Basic and Translational Research at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and contributes to multiple international research initiatives and advisory boards. Her work has earned significant research funding and recognition, including the 2022 ESMO Translational Research Award.
Dr. Sara Elena Rebuzzi
Dr. Sara Elena Rebuzzi will receive the Christopher G. Wood Rising Star Award, which recognizes talented young kidney cancer experts in honor of the KCA’s late Board Chair and friend, Dr. Christopher G. Wood.
Rebuzzi is a Medical Oncologist with a PhD in Translational Oncology. At the Medical Oncology Unit 2, Ospedale Molinette, AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza of Torino in Italy, she coordinates genitourinary cancer research and cares for patients with GU tumors. Rebuzzi’s clinical research focuses on identifying and validating prognostic and predictive factors in renal cell carcinoma patients to improve stratification and treatment outcomes. She designed and coordinated some of the largest multicentric real-world studies on GU research. Rebuzzi drives collaborations with many oncology centres, providing valuable insights into oncology practice outside the controlled environment of clinical trials.