Three Outstanding Kidney Cancer Experts to be Honored at the 2026 IKCS: North America Meeting
The 2026 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS): North America meeting will feature three special awards honoring standout members of the kidney cancer community as well as a keynote address on the last decade of kidney cancer science. Read more about each person below. 2026 IKCS: North America will take place in Dallas, Texas from November 19-21. Register now.
Nicholas J. Vogelzang Humanitarian Award
Dr. Walter Stadler receives the 2026 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, the KCA, and the wider kidney cancer community.
Dr. Stadler received his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois and his Medical Degree at Yale University. He completed his Internal Medicine training at Michael Reese Hospital and his fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago. He joined the University of Chicago faculty in 1994 and rose through the ranks to the Fred C. Buffett Professor of Medicine. He also held several leadership positions including Chief of Hematology/Oncology, Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dean for Clinical Research. In 2025 he joined City of Hope as the Chief Clinical Officer for their Chicago location. He has focused his career on clinical therapeutic and biomarker development in genitourinary cancer and especially renal cancer. In his over 250 peer reviewed publications he has made significant contributions to the development of VEGFR inhibitors and immunotherapy for the treatment of renal cancers. Dr. Stadler has been an integral part of the Kidney Cancer Association since it’s founding, encouraged by his mentor Dr. Vogelzang, and continues to serve as an emeritus member on the Medical Steering Committee.
Eugene P. Schonfeld Award
Dr. Sumanta (Monty) Pal will receive the 2026 Eugene P. Schonfeld Award, named for the KCA’s founder, for his contributions to oncology and kidney cancer treatment.
Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, is a Professor, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs in the Department of Medical Oncology & Experimental Therapeutics, and Co-Director of the Kidney Cancer Program at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center. An academic prodigy, Dr. Pal entered college at age 13 and began his medical education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) at 17. After completing his residency at UCLA, he completed a medical oncology fellowship at City of Hope, where he has remained on faculty since 2009. Dr. Pal has served on the KCA’s Medical Steering Committee since 2020.
Christopher G. Wood Rising Star Award
Dr. Wenxin (Vincent) Xu receives the 2026 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.
Dr. Xu is a genitourinary medical oncologist and clinical translational investigator at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. He received his BA from Harvard College and his MD from Harvard Medical School, and completed internal medicine residency and hematology/oncology fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. His research focuses on circulating biomarkers in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), including the development and validation of circulating KIM-1 as a biomarker across the kidney cancer disease continuum. Additional efforts include integration of plasma proteomics and ctDNA into RCC biomarker models. As a clinical investigator, he leads trials with a focus on personalized medicine and novel immunotherapies for RCC. He was the recipient of a 2020 ASCO Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award and a 2026 Ellen and Stephen Fine Award for Outstanding Teaching in Cancer Medicine, and is a member of the Kidney Cancer Program at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.
Keynote Speaker
Professor Samra Turajlic MA, MBBS, MRCP, PhD
Director, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute
Visting Group Leader, Cancer Dynamics Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute
Lead of the MANIFEST Consortium and Platform
Consultant Medical Oncologist, The Christie NHS Foundation
Professor Samra Turajlic is a Clinician Scientist with expertise in melanoma genetics and targeted therapy resistance. In 2014, she was awarded a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship at the CRUK London Research Institute when she began applying an evolutionary framework to understanding renal cancer reconciling many clinical observations. Prof Turajlic’s work spans basic, translational and clinical research and she is the Chief Investigator of studies that aim to understand tumour initiation, metastasis and therapy resistance. Her lab contributes novel methods for investigating and diagnosing cancer for patient benefit. Prof Turajlic is a past recipient of the Kidney Cancer Association’s 2026 Pieter de Mulder Award recognizing oncologists who have made significant contributions to the treatment of kidney cancer. Her keynote at the 2026 IKCS: North America meeting is entitled “From Genetics to Immunology: What a Decade of Studying RCC Patients Has Taught Us”.
