U of T's Frances Shepherd, expert in lung cancer, wins Canada Gairdner Wightman Award

Dr. Frances Shepherd, an innovator in the study and treatment of lung cancer, has won the 2018 Canada Gairdner Wightman Award for outstanding career leadership in medicine and medical science.

A medical oncologist and professor in the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine, Shepherd has been instrumental in designing and conducting research studies that evaluate new targeted medications and anti-angiogenesis agents in lung cancer. She has undertaken many translational research studies in this field, and developed several large international randomized trials for some of the novel molecular anti-cancer agents.

Dr. Shepherd is the Scott Taylor Chair in lung cancer research and senior staff physician at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

“The Gairdner Wightman Award underscores Professor Shepherd’s stature as a leading global clinician-scientist,” said Trevor Young, dean of U of T's Faculty of Medicine. “She brings skilful collaboration and rigorous methodology to her clinical trial development, and the results have led to greater treatment options and outcomes for people with advanced lung cancer.”  

Shepherd told the Globe and Mail, “It's been a life's work of doggedly pursuing new treatments for lung cancer and chasing research money.”

However, she said, “the changes in lung cancer have been dramatic and incredibly fast. Just keeping up is a full-time job.”

Read more about Dr. Frances Shepherd in the Globe and Mail

Read about this year's other Gairdner Award winners 

In 2016, Shepherd was named an officer of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honour. She currently sits on the board of directors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. She also chairs the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Protocol Review committee. 

“Dr. Shepherd’s work has transformed the way that we think about lung cancer and the way that the world treats lung cancer,” said Dr. Bradly Wouters, executive vice-president, science and research, University Health Network. “I am thrilled to hear that she has been recognized with this prestigious award. She is extremely deserving and has been a force in Canadian science for decades.” 

Shepherd earned her MD from U of T in 1970. She has been co-investigator or principal investigator on more than 100 trials and served as chair of the Lung Cancer Committee of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group. She was instrumental in the creation of NCIC trial-associated Lung Cancer Tumour Banks, which contain both cancerous and normal lung samples, a critical resource for further understanding the molecular abnormalities of lung cancers.

She is a past president of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and was the recipient of the Jacqueline Seroussi Memorial Award for Cancer Research in 2004, the O. Harold Warwick Award for Research Excellence of the National Cancer Institute of Canada in 2006 and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Research Award in 2007. She was awarded an Ontario Premier’s Summit Award for Medical Research in 2008. She has authored or co-authored more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and 35 book chapters.

The Canada Gairdner Award announcement was made Tuesday at the Toronto Reference Library.  

This year’s awardees will be celebrated at a black-tie gala in October.