Who are the 16 Italians who won the Asco 2025 Merit Awards?

In a political context that is undermining the foundations of scientific research, supporting researchers takes on even greater weight. The Trump administration has launched a series of measures – from funding cuts to institutional censorship – that are hitting the academic world hard. At Harvard alone, nearly 1,000 grants have already been lost, worth over $2.4 billion. And the blows inflicted on key agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are compromising the entire international scientific ecosystem.

It is in this scenario that the funding of Conquer Cancer ®, the Asco Foundation, takes on an even stronger symbolic and concrete value. With over 11.5 million dollars awarded through more than 450 grants and awards, the foundation reiterates the urgency of believing in cancer research and supporting it, regardless of the political context. The awards will be presented during the Asco 2025 Annual Congress , scheduled in Chicago from May 30 to June 3.

“We are incredibly proud of this year’s honorees and the global impact their work will have,” said Howard A. Burris III , Chairman of the Board of Directors of Conquer Cancer. “Their expertise and innovation embody our commitment to making a difference in every cancer, for every patient, everywhere.” This year’s honorees come from 41 countries. Oncoline interviewed the 15 Italian researchers to get a sneak preview of what they are working on, why they are being honored, and what they dream of for their future.

Michela Bartolini, 30 years old

Thirty years old, originally from Frontone, a small town in the Marche hinterland where she returns whenever she can to get away from her routine and recharge, Michela Bartolini is now at the Norris Cancer Center of the University of Southern California, where she is specializing under the guidance of Heinz-Josef Lenz, one of the leading experts in gastrointestinal oncology. The ASCO Merit Award was awarded to a retrospective study on patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, aimed at exploring the non-coding genome, a region of DNA once considered 'useless', now recognized as active in tumor genesis. "I focused on a class of RNA called long non-coding RNA - she explains - which could prove to be a useful biomarker both for prognosis and for response to therapies. It is a research area that is still little explored and in its initial phase, which will require further studies before it can be translated into clinical practice, but the results so far are promising". Michela graduated from the Catholic University of Rome, specialized in oncology at Humanitas in Milan and dreams of a future in research and clinical practice: "I would like to return to Italy, but I remain open to the world. I believe in precision medicine that also knows how to listen to patients' stories".

Paolo Tarantino, 33 years old

Oncologist and researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Paolo Tarantino works on the border between innovation and hope. Born in Naples in 1991, after graduating from Federico II and specializing at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, today he signs three studies presented at Asco, all related to drug-conjugated antibodies for breast cancer. The first concerns the Dato-Base clinical study, which tests datopotamab deruxtecan in patients with brain metastases. “We are testing the drug in patients with particularly aggressive tumors, with brain metastases, in the hope of improving their prognosis,” explains Tarantino who adds: “The second identifies new biomarkers to predict the response to trastuzumab deruxtecan, in collaboration with two international biotechs (Reveal Genomics, Barcelona, ​​and Ignite Therapeutics, Colorado), and for the first time shows how a sensitive quantification of Her2 on tumor tissue can effectively predict the clinical activity of trastuzumab deruxtecan”. The third delves into a project for which the researcher had already obtained the Asco Merit Award in 2023, evaluating a set of 100 triple-negative tumors: “We have identified a subgroup with a strong immune response and no relapses. The next step? Demonstrate that in these cases chemotherapy can be avoided”. When he is not studying, he plays, dances tango and searches for harmony. “Science, like dance, needs rigor, listening and passion”.

Martina Pagliuca, 33 years old

A Neapolitan doctor and researcher born in 1991, Martina Pagliuca has dedicated her work to an often overlooked aspect of treatment: quality of life after cancer. With the Cancer Survivorship group at the Gustave Roussy Institute in Paris, she studied over 6,000 women with early-stage breast cancer, followed for two years after diagnosis. “By analyzing the most frequent symptoms, such as tiredness, depression, insomnia with a sophisticated statistical analysis,” explains the researcher, “we identified six distinct groups of patients based on the combination and severity of symptoms. Depression and fatigue were the most relevant factors one year after diagnosis. The most intense symptoms were concentrated among those who had received chemotherapy or hormone therapy.” Her goal is clear: to recognize who needs the most support to build personalized care paths even after treatments. After three years in France, she returned to Naples, where she is now a researcher in Clinical and Translational Oncology at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale and works at the Pascale Institute. With skill and passion, she carries out research that looks beyond the disease, where one begins to live again. What do you do in your free time? “In addition to training and pilates, I have recently become passionate about running and, since I am very sociable, I also like to participate in group runs to meet different people”.

Filippo G. Dall'Olio, 38 years old

Born in Bologna in 1986, an oncologist and researcher, today divided between the clinic and the laboratory at Gustave Roussy in Paris, after studies and a doctorate between Bologna and the French capital. It is here that he conducted the award-winning research, dedicated to head and neck tumors, among the most complex to treat with immunotherapy. "Our work - he says - has focused on circulating DNA: tiny genetic traces that the tumor releases into the blood and that can become precious indicators of the disease. We have discovered that the quantity of tumor DNA can predict the effectiveness of immunotherapy and reveals, in some cases, a more aggressive biology of the tumor and a real 'reprogramming' of the patient's metabolism". His goal is clear: to make medicine increasingly personalized, precise, less invasive. Between a flight to Bologna (where his wife lives) and the corridors of the laboratory, he cultivates a passion for extreme travel, cooking and photography. But it is in the complexity of the relationship between tumor and organism that he continues to seek new ways to better understand and treat.

Angela Viggiano, 31 years old

Born in Naples in 1994, Angela Viggiano is a fifth-year specialist in Medical Oncology at the Federico II University. She chose oncology for its unique ability to combine scientific rigor and a deep human relationship with the patient. “It is a discipline that continually evolves, but always remains rooted in the relationship,” she says. With the support of her tutor Alberto Servetto, she conducted a study that puts an often overlooked aspect under the magnifying glass: the quality of the control arms in clinical trials that lead to the approval of new oncology drugs. “In a well-designed study,” the researcher emphasizes, “even the treatment administered to the control group should reflect the most up-to-date and appropriate standard of care, with an efficacy that should at least reach the expected one, specified in the study protocol itself.” In other words, the researchers asked themselves whether the patients in the control arm had experienced a benefit in line with what was expected or whether they had obtained a different result, in terms of efficacy, with the treatment used than expected. Analyzing over 80 trials approved by the FDA between 2014 and 2023, Angela discovered that in a third of cases the standard treatment performed worse than expected. Only in 55.5% of the studies were the results of the control arm consistent with the predictions. “This can distort the real efficacy of the experimental drug,” she explains. Angela dreams of a professional experience abroad, but she chose to train in her city, where her roots are part of her strength. “Growing up where you were born is a value, not a limit.”

Elisa Agostinetto, 35 years old

Since moving to Belgium five years ago, Agostinetto has won the Merit Award three times. The last time was this year, with a study on metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. “Even though it affects a small portion of patients, its unfavorable prognosis pushes the scientific community to look for answers to allow these women to live as long as possible,” explains Agostinetto. The research she will present in Chicago evaluates the addition of a new drug, oleclumab, to chemo-immunotherapy in cases of locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative cancer. Unfortunately, the new treatment regimen does not increase disease-free survival, but the study indicates that in some patients the response to chemo-immunotherapy lasted a very long time and that the analysis of circulating tumor DNA is a good indicator of the progression of the disease. It therefore provides useful information to predict who benefits (and who does not) from this therapy.

Veronica Conca, 33 years old

Sometimes it takes time to understand how well a therapy works. This is what happened with the regimen used in the Folfoxiri/panitumumab treatment, which consists of adding the monoclonal antibody panitunumab to a triplet of chemotherapy drugs, for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that does not present RAS/BRAF mutations. Veronica Conca, who will bring the latest analysis of this study to Chicago, confirms this: "This study, in which all of Italy participated, shows that this combination brings a significant advantage in survival, which is obviously the most important objective, even if it has not demonstrated an advantage over standard therapy in radiological responses and in prolonging the time to disease progression". An important result that comes from a research group, that of the University of Pisa, which for years has been at the forefront of the clinical study of this type of tumor.

William Vetere, 28 years old

Before we can say that a new drug is effective, we must first understand whether it is safe, especially when used together with other drugs. This is precisely the starting point of the study that Guglielmo Vetere will present at the Asco 2025 Congress. Vetere is currently at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, but is completing his specialization at the University of Pisa, an Italian center of excellence in the treatment of colorectal cancer. The study evaluated a new combination of drugs - cetuximab, LY3214996, with or without the addition of abemaciclib - in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, without RAS and/or BRAF mutations according to tissue analysis, already treated in the past with anti-EGFR drugs and at least one chemotherapy regimen. The treatment was well tolerated, with manageable adverse events and no unexpected toxicity. But there's more. “Although clinical activity has been modest,” explains Vetere, “this is the first study to report objective responses to an anti-EGFR-based regimen in patients who, at the time of the new treatment, were carriers of acquired RAS mutations, detected in the blood.” A condition that, until now, had represented a major obstacle to the effectiveness of these therapies.

Peter De Placido, 33 years old

“I have been here at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for a year and a half and I am studying how to use liquid biopsy in breast cancer patients to improve their chances of cure”. These are the words of Pietro De Placido, one of the young Italian oncologists who won the Merit Award 2025. The study he will present in Chicago measured, using liquid biopsy, circulating tumor DNA in patients with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer at the start of standard first-line treatment combined with hormone therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitors. The results show that liquid biopsy makes it possible to predict which tumors will be resistant to treatment and which genetic alterations in these tumors characterize patients who show intrinsic resistance to treatment compared to those who instead show a duration of response in line with expectations.

Caterina Sposetti, 32 years old

Obesity is a major risk factor for breast cancer. But does it have a negative effect on all women, both before and after menopause? This is what they asked themselves at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where a pioneer in this field, Jennifer Ligibel, works. There, thanks to a three-year AIRC-Fondazione Gianni Bonadonna grant, Caterina Sposetti, one of the winners of the Merit Award 2025, went to do research. The study she will present in Chicago shows that for postmenopausal patients who have been diagnosed with hormone-positive and Her2-negative breast cancer, and who are overweight or obese, lifestyle changes in terms of healthy eating and physical activity have a significant impact, but not for younger patients. “The study shows that for older patients, diet and physical activity can improve the characteristics of the tumor and ultimately also the prognosis of the disease,” concludes Sposetti.

Chiara Mercinelli, 31 years old

From Taranto to Milan to dedicate herself to genitourinary tumors in the Medical Oncology Unit of the IRCSS of the San Raffaele Hospital and at the Vita Salute San Raffaele University, where she is following the PhD course in Molecular Medicine. A clinical study on localized bladder tumors brought her to Chicago. In about 20% of patients, in fact, the disease extends to the muscles: even after complete removal of the bladder, the risk of recurrence remains high. Platinum-based chemotherapy before surgery is a valid strategy, but not everyone can receive it and in fact those who are not eligible are not treated. The phase 2 NURE-Combo study, led by Mercinelli, seeks to respond to this very need, testing a strategy based on immunotherapy administered both before and after surgery. The long-term results are positive and thus pave the way for a new possible treatment. “Like many people from Taranto, I know what it means to face a cancer diagnosis in the family. This is why I work every day to respond to the needs of patients."

Alberto Giovanni Leone, 32 years old

Cancer is a leading cause of death in people with HIV, yet this population is often excluded from clinical trials on new drugs: in the last decade, just 11% of trials included patients with HIV. Asco (2017) and subsequently the FDA (2020) urged greater involvement, publishing specific guidelines. Has the situation improved since then? Yes, but not as hoped. This is revealed by the analysis of Alberto Giovanni Leone - born in Rome, now a researcher at the National Cancer Institute in Milan and Clinical Fellow at the Department of Oncology and National Centre for HIV Malignancy at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London - who examined 244 new pharmacological indications based on 259 studies conducted between 2020 and 2024. Well, about 3 out of 4 trials continue to exclude people who have contracted the infection. In particular, these patients are more likely to be missed in trials involving hematologic (versus solid) cancers or testing immunotherapies. The research highlights unequal access to new treatment options and uncertainty about the safety and clinical utility of new treatments.

Paola Zagami, 33 years old

In young women with a BRCA mutation and diagnosed with early “hormone-sensitive” breast cancer, suppression of ovarian function, in combination with endocrine therapy, reduces the risk of recurrence and increases survival. This is demonstrated by new research conducted within the large international multicenter BRCA BCY Collaboration study. These new results were presented in an oral presentation at the Asco congress by Paola Zagami, oncologist and researcher at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan and research fellow at the University of North Carolina - Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill. Until now, in fact, there were no data demonstrating whether suppression of ovarian function was necessary and beneficial even in patients with BRCA mutations and hormone-positive breast cancer, while today we have confirmation that it is a key component of treatment. “Research, especially academic research, will remain my top priority,” he tells us. “In a few years, I hope to hold an academic position that will allow me to expand the time and resources I can dedicate to this commitment, with even more strength and responsibility, because the more we understand tumors, the better we can try to treat them.”

Emma Zattarin, 33 years old

The study that Emma Zattarin is bringing to Chicago also concerns patients with BRCA mutation and hormone-responsive breast cancer, but this time in an advanced stage. The question she is trying to answer is a crucial one in this group of patients: now that several drugs are available, what is the best sequence? In particular, targeted drugs for the BRCA mutation, the class of Parp inhibitors, were tested when other targeted therapies, called CDK4/6 inhibitors, were not yet available, today prescribed as first-line treatment. Well, are Parp inhibitors administered after CDK4/6 inhibitors effective? Are they a better therapeutic choice than hormone therapies or chemotherapy? The results of this research (coordinated by Professor Angela Toss), suggest yes. Although it is a retrospective study, so far we had no data to say. “I chose oncology because it seemed to me the only discipline in which I could do the two things I love most: taking care of patients and research,” says Zattarin, who today works at the Department of Oncology led by Massimo Dominici at the Policlinico di Modena, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. “For the near future, I would like to continue studying breast cancer, particularly in patients with the BRCA mutation.”

Marta Padovan, 35 years old

Glioblastoma is one of the most difficult tumors to treat: it affects approximately 1,500 people in Italy every year and is the most common brain tumor in adults. For this reason, there is a great need for new therapeutic strategies. Among the most active Italian centers in research in this area is the Neuro-Oncology Unit of the Veneto Oncology Institute (IOV) in Padua, coordinated by Giuseppe Lombardi. It is here that the multicenter academic study was conducted, led by Marta Padovan, of Oncology 1 of the IOV: for the first time in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, a new regimen based on a targeted drug, regorafenib, already used against other tumors, in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, was tested. It is therefore a phase 1 trial, which aims to establish the maximum tolerated dose of the drug. The trial was conducted on two small groups of patients and the results will be fundamental for designing future trials on larger patient samples that will allow us to understand the effectiveness of the treatment. "Clinical practice and research will remain the fulcrum of my path, even in the coming years. I am driven by the determination with which patients face such a complex diagnosis: in this context, any research project has enormous value in trying to improve patients' prospects and their quality of life".

Matteo Repetto, 32 years old

Already winner of the ASCO Merit Award last year, Matteo Repetto - who is still at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, but has since become a medical oncologist - returns to the ASCO Congress with a new genomics and molecular biology study. This time the subject is the ATM gene, a key gene in DNA repair mechanisms. Hereditary mutations in this gene (transmitted by one of the parents) are associated with an increased risk of developing tumors. In cells, the ATM gene is present in two copies, and the loss of the second copy - the healthy one - is generally necessary for the tumor to develop. By analyzing mutations (both inherited and spontaneous) in a cohort of over 80,000 patients affected by different types of tumors, Repetto and colleagues have identified the mechanisms through which the healthy copy of ATM is lost, highlighting the consequences on the tumor genome. Their study aims to clarify which tumors are associated with mutations in the ATM gene and to explore the potential therapeutic implications in the field of precision medicine.

Letizia Gabaglio and Tiziana Moriconi collaborated