2026 Annual Meeting Awards
Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr., Distinguished Achievement Award
The ASPO Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr. Distinguished Achievement Award is extended annually to an outstanding scientist in the area of preventive oncology, cancer control, and/or cancer prevention.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jo Freudenheim, PhD, as the recipient of the Joseph F. Fraumeni, Jr. Distinguished Achievement Award. Dr. Freudenheim, a SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University at Buffalo (UB), is an internationally recognized cancer researcher whose work has made seminal contributions to cancer prevention, particularly in the areas of diet, nutrition, and alcohol consumption. She has authored more than 300 original research papers, along with numerous review articles and book chapters, with much of her research focused on cancers affecting women, including breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancer, as well as a broad range of other cancer sites.
Dr. Freudenheim’s research has advanced understanding of dietary patterns, biomarkers, genomic factors, and methodological approaches to nutrition assessment, with approximately one-third of her publications cited more than 100 times. She has played a leading role in elevating global recognition of cancer risk related to alcohol consumption, most notably as Chair of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) working group that produced The IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention: Reduction or cessation of alcohol beverage consumption, published in 2024, with findings also summarized in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023. IARC reviews are widely regarded as the gold standard in cancer risk assessment.
Dr. Freudenheim has also provided national leadership through service on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Review of Evidence on Alcohol and Health, which produced the 2025 consensus report, and through invited presentations at the NASEM National Cancer Policy Forum. A long-standing member of ASPO, she has presented at multiple annual meetings, including a “Best of CEBP” presentation in 2017, served as Senior Editor of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention for 12 years, and mentored more than 90 trainees. Her sustained scientific leadership, service, and mentorship have had a profound impact on the field of cancer prevention.
Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award
The Joseph W. Cullen Memorial Award aims to appreciate an individual’s distinguished achievement in continued national tobacco control interventions, through research, through the development of prevention and cessation programs with wide-reaching public health impact, or through public policy and advocacy initiatives. Congratulations to this year’s recipient, Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD!
Dr. Halpern-Felsher is an internationally recognized leader in adolescent health and tobacco control whose career reflects exceptional innovation, impact, and dedication to cancer prevention. She is a developmental psychologist and Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University, where her research has transformed understanding of how cognitive, social, and environmental factors shape youth decision-making and risk perceptions related to tobacco, vaping, cannabis, and other substances.
Dr. Halpern-Felsher has led or co-led multiple landmark NIH-, NCI-, and FDA-funded Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS) projects, producing evidence critical to preventing youth initiation, progression, and continued use of tobacco products, particularly among vulnerable populations. Her work has directly informed prevention strategies and regulatory policy, contributing to major advances in youth tobacco control.
She is also a national leader in translating science into practice. As founder and executive director of the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, Cannabis Awareness and Prevention Toolkit, and Vaping Information, Solutions, and Interventions Toolkit, Dr. Halpern-Felsher has delivered evidence-based education to more than 3 million youth through thousands of schools across the United States and internationally. These widely adopted curricula have become a standard for prevention education and are continually updated to address emerging industry tactics and trends in youth vaping.
Dr. Halpern-Felsher’s influence extends to policy at the highest levels, including testimony before the FDA, state legislatures, and Congress, and service on Surgeon General Reports and National Academies of Medicine committees. She has mentored more than 300 students and trainees and continues to lead innovative NIH-funded research. Through her sustained leadership in research, policy, and implementation, Dr. Halpern-Felsher exemplifies the legacy of Joseph W. Cullen and is richly deserving of this honor.