Karen Knudsen is the 2025 Allen Lichter Visionary Leader Award Recipient

Karen E. Knudsen is the recipient of the 2025 Allen Lichter Visionary Leader Award, which she will be honoured with at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting, by ASCO and Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation.

About the role

Karen E. Knudsen is the Executive Strategic Advisor and Immediate Past CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS). She is also the Director of the Board of Directors at Exai Bi. She is the third director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) at Jefferson Health, an NCI-Designated Cancer Center since 1995. She was appointed as the enterprise director in January 2015 after serving as the deputy director and founding member of the SKCC Prostate Cancer Program. As enterprise director, Dr. Knudsen oversees cancer research and care across 14 hospitals within Jefferson Health, reporting directly to the CEO of Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health.

Responsibilities

• Oversaw cancer research and care across 14 hospitals within Jefferson Health.
• Overseeing the expansion of the center’s reach, establishing three Advanced Care Hubs outside the main academic site.
• Extending clinical trial offerings across a two-state region.
• Leading the Advanced Prostate Cancer Track for the ASCO-GU Program Steering Committee for two years.
• Serving as Chair-Elect for ASCO-GU.
• Serving on numerous advisory, review, and elected panels for the Department of Defense, the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and the NIH.

Qualifications

• BS in Biology from George Washington University.
• PhD from the University of California, San Diego, focusing on cell cycle checkpoint control.
• Postdoctoral fellowship with Webster K. Cavenee, studying hormone action and the impact of cell cycle dysregulation on prostate cancer progression.
• Tenure at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
• More than 20 years of continuous NIH funding.
• Editor for several leading oncology journals, including serving as editor-in-chief of Molecular Cancer Research and associate editor for Oncogene.
• Recipient of numerous accolades, including the Richard E. Weitzman Laureate Award from the Endocrine Society and the Sophie Yen Award for Distinguished Training in Translational Research.
• Advocate for cancer research funding and patient access to clinical innovations.

Skills

• Translational cancer discoveries of impact.
• Leadership in American Cancer Society, AACI (Association of American Cancer Institutes), and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health.
• Bringing exceptional teams together to fast-track progress against cancer.

Benefits

• Recognition for her work in the field of oncology.
• Opportunity to celebrate with colleagues past and present at ASCO25 and GU25.

Pay

The pay details are not specified in the provided information.

Schedule

The schedule details are not specified in the provided information.