Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) celebrated new graduates and award winners at the Academic Convocation and Commencement, held on May 14. In 2025, 14 students earned their doctoral degrees in cancer biology from the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSK) — the educational division of MSK. In addition, two practicing MSK doctors received Master of Science degrees in clinical and translational cancer research from GSK. The event also honored 43 students graduating from the Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences this year who conducted their thesis work in MSK labs.
This annual event also recognizes promising trainees, distinguished scientists, and doctors from MSK and beyond with a number of awards and fellowships.
This year’s honorary degree recipient and commencement speaker was Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi, PhD, a professor at Stanford University and Baker Family Director of the Sarafan ChEM-H Institute. She was recognized for her pioneering research, which established the exciting and dynamic field of research known as bioorthogonal chemistry, and for her work as an advocate for promoting diversity in science.
‘Pushing Forward the Frontiers of Biomedical Science’
Before giving her address to the graduates, Dr. Bertozzi was presented with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Biomedical Science.
Dr. Bertozzi began by applauding the graduates and telling them, “You are here for a very important reason, which is that you are passionate about pushing forward the frontiers of biomedical science specifically for the benefit of cancer patients,” adding: “Not only did you contribute to the fundamental knowledge that forms the basis for the next cures, many of you had touchpoints with patients yourselves, and you gave them hope, which is every bit as important as science.”
Dr. Bertozzi acknowledged the uncertainty involved in pursuing a PhD in science, because students begin their training not knowing how long it will take or what they will discover. They must confront setbacks, recognize opportunities, and shift their research in a new direction. It is precisely that experience that prepares them for an ever-changing world, said Dr. Bertozzi.
You’ll know when it’s time to pivot and “you’ll know what to do,” she said. “Always keep your radar screen up for opportunities.”
She also talked about the uncertainty facing the scientific community today due to proposed cuts in federal funding. But she offered reassuring words, “Clouds come in and clouds pass. And this has always been true. And sometimes the path to the future is not clear. But if you hang in there, things emerge.”
Recognizing Talented Trainees and Notable Scientists and Doctors
At the beginning of the 46th annual ceremony, MSK President and CEO Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, remarked on recent advances in both discovery science and clinical translational research that were led by MSK researchers. “These contributions continually highlight the transformative impact that MSK scientists have for this organization and for the cancer [community] at large,” he said.
MSK Board Chair Scott M. Stuart and GSK Founding Chair Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., were also on hand to honor the graduates and Dr. Bertozzi.
GSK Dean Michael Overholtzer, PhD, presented several awards to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows doing their research in MSK labs. He also honored the four recipients of this year’s Marie-Josée Kravis Women in Science Endeavor (WiSE) fellowships.
Joan Massagué, PhD, MSK Chief Scientific Officer, Sloan Kettering Institute Director, and GSK Provost, also presented several awards, including to the two winners of this year’s Maximizing Excellence in Research, Innovation, and Technology (MERIT) fellowships. These fellowships fund the research of young investigators from historically underrepresented groups.
In addition, Dr. Massagué presented John Maciejowski, PhD, with the Louise and Allston Boyer Young Investigator Award for Basic Research. Dr. Maciejowski is a 2012 GSK graduate who now leads an SKI lab.
The ceremony also honored researchers who focus on clinical work. MSK’s Chief Physician Executive, Lisa DeAngelis, MD, presented awards to several recipients.
One of these awards was the C. Chester Stock Award Lectureship, which was presented to MSK physician-scientist Charles Sawyers, MD. This award typically goes to someone outside of MSK, but this year we are especially proud to give it to one of our own, Dr. DeAngelis said, citing Dr. Sawyers’ leadership in the areas of targeted therapies and cancer genomics.
Another clinical prize was the Willet F. Whitmore Award for Clinical Excellence, which was given to MSK gastrointestinal medical oncologist Eileen O’Reilly, MD. “The entire pancreatic cancer community views Eileen as an inspirational mentor, colleague, and patient advocate,” Dr. DeAngelis said. “Her clinical insight and judgment serve as invaluable resources, not only for her colleagues at MSK, but across the U.S. and the world.”
Applauding GSK’s Newest Degree Recipients
In his address to the graduates, Dr. Overholtzer discussed the broad range of discoveries and accomplishments they had made throughout their time at GSK, telling them, “You’ve furthered an understanding of cancer in a lot of different ways.”
He added, “The discoveries you have made here will be long remembered. Don’t ever forget what you’ve learned here about yourselves.”
Every year, GSK graduates select one of their peers to give a speech at commencement. This year, the student speaker was Miguel Francisco de Jesus, PhD, who conducted his thesis research in the lab of Morgan Huse, PhD.
He told the graduates that success requires more than pure intelligence. “Scientists today will need many other qualities beyond intelligence in order to navigate this complex world that we’re now a part of,” he said. “We are probably not going to be the kinds of scientists that our mentors have been, although we gladly walk in their footsteps and stand on top of their shoulders.”
This year’s 14 graduates from the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences have contributed crucial insights to fundamental questions in basic biology and oncology. Learn more about their accomplishments and their research projects.
Recognizing Important Accomplishments
During the ceremony, awards were presented to many members of the MSK community:
- Beatrice Zhang, a graduate student in the labs of Benjamin Greenbaum, PhD, and Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD, received the Dorris J. Hutchison Graduate Fellowship.
- Young Sun Lee, an MD-PhD student in the lab of Dr. Sawyers, received a Barbara and Stephen Friedman Graduate Fellowship.
- Manisha Srinivas Raghavan, MS, a graduate student in the lab of Karuna Ganesh, MD, PhD, received the Bruce Charles Forbes Graduate Fellowship.
- Hina Shah, a graduate student in the lab of Agnel Sfeir, PhD; Lydia Paraskevi Tsamouri, a graduate student in the lab of Daniel Bachovchin, PhD; Almudena Chaves-Pérez, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Scott Lowe, PhD; and Adriana Mujal, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Joseph Sun, PhD, received Kravis WiSE Fellowships.
- Tomasz Kochańczyk, PhD, a research fellow in the lab of Christopher Lima, PhD, and Xueqian Zhuang, PhD, a fellow in the lab of Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD, received Postdoctoral Research Awards.
- Maria Castellanos Morales, PhD, a research scholar in the lab of John Chodera, PhD, received the Andrew S. Gordon MERIT Postdoc Fellowship.
- Areej Alsaafin, PhD, a research fellow working in the lab of Nikolaus Schultz, PhD, received the Henry and Alexia Fernandez Computational Fellowship.
- Keunwoo Ryu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Craig B. Thompson, MD, received the Tri-Institutional Breakout Prize for Junior Investigators.
- Dr. Maciejowski, an Associate Member in the Molecular Biology Program of SKI, received the Louise and Allston Boyer Young Investigator Award for Basic Research.
- Eytan Stein, MD, an Associate Member in the Department of Medicine and Chief of the Leukemia Service, received the Louise and Allston Boyer Young Investigator Award for Clinical Research.
- Dr. Sawyers, Chair of MSK’s Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, received the C. Chester Stock Award Lectureship.
- Dr. O’Reilly, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist and Co-Director for Medical Initiatives in the David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, received the Willet F. Whitmore Award for Clinical Excellence.
The 2025 award recipients from outside MSK were:
- Dr. Bertozzi, of Stanford University and the Sarafan ChEM-H Institute, received the Memorial Sloan Kettering Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Biomedical Science.
- Eva Nogales, of the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, received the Katharine Berkan Judd Award.
- Todd Golub, of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, received the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Prize.