Events & Awards

Events & Awards

AIM-HI Beacon Award for Oncology Leaders

The AIM-HI Beacon Award for Women Leaders in Oncology honors exceptional women leaders across the health and life sciences sectors who have made transformative contributions to advancing cancer treatment, detection, and diagnosis for patients worldwide.

The 2026 AIM-HI Beacon Award recipient will be honored with a commemorative medal and invited to deliver a keynote address at the Luncheon Award Ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington DC on October 9, 2026. 

2024 Winner

Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc)

Chief Executive Officer, American Association for Cancer Research

2024 AIM-HI Beacon Award Selection Committee

  • Sujuan Ba, Ph.D., Co-Chair, CEO & Co-Founder, AIM-HI Accelerator Fund; President & CEO, National Foundation for Cancer Research
  • Webster Cavenee, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California San Diego
  • Bahija Jallal, Ph.D., CEO & Director of the Board, Immunocore
  • Raju Kucherlapati, Ph.D., Paul C. Cabot Professor of Genetics & Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
  • Patricia Obermaier, MBA, Chief Growth Officer, Global Health and Life Sciences, Microsoft
  • Libia Scheller, Ph.D., MBA, Global Head Oncology-Cooperative Groups & Strategic Alliances, Bayer Health Care Pharmaceuticals
  • Thea Tlsty, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pathology and Director of the Center for Translational Research in the Molecular Genetics of Cancer, UCSF

Previous Recipients

2023 Winner

Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D.
Director, National Cancer Institute

2022 Winner

Anna D. Barker, Ph.D.
Chief Strategy Officer, Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine
Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Complex Adaptive Systems, Arizona State University

NFCR Global Summit and Award Ceremonies
for Cancer Research and Entrepreneurship

Co-hosted by AIM-HI

We believe that when brilliant leaders are brought into the same space to focus on the same issues, progress happens. That’s why AIM-HI has curated an annual oncology conference in partnership with NFCR. The conference consists of three forums:

New Frontier for Cancer Research

World-renowned scientific leaders discuss their latest life-saving discoveries and the breakthroughs that continue to change the cancer research landscape.

Luncheon & Oncology Leadership Forum

Forum topics include the direction of the healthcare industry, the traits that characterize business leaders, and how young entrepreneurs in oncology and patient-empowering health-tech can best prepare themselves as future leaders.

Emerging Oncology Companies Showcase & Investor's Perspectives

Biotech investment veterans exchange opinions on hot topics in oncology and provide advice to start-up companies seeking institutional funding.

The 2026 NFCR Global Summit and Award Ceremonies will be held on Friday, October 9, 2026, in-person at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Join this day to celebrate cancer research and entrepreneurship and engage with key opinion leaders in the field, including world-class scientists, biotech executives, entrepreneurs, investors, cancer patients, and advocates.