Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship

Mary Beth Maddox Award & Lectureship Logo

The Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship recognizes women scientists in Texas bringing new ideas and innovations to the fight against cancer.

It was established in honor of Mary Beth Maddox, former Executive Director of TAMEST, who passed away in 2018 after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.

The recipient will be honored at the TAMEST 2025 Annual Conference, where they will present their research to attendees and also receive a $5,000 honorarium and award. The conference will be held February 4–6, 2025, at the Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.

In addition to being honored at the TAMEST Annual Conference, the recipient will promote their work and discoveries across the state at established lecture and seminar series at TAMEST member institutions with NIH National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Centers:

The award covers the recipient’s travel and lodging for the lectures and includes organized visits and networking at the NCI Cancer Centers. A $1,000 stipend is provided to the recipient to provide childcare while traveling for the lecture series.

Nominations for the 2025 Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship will open on August 1, 2024. For questions, please contact Destiny Allen at (937) 218-3838 or destiny.allen@austin.utexas.edu.

Eligibility Criteria

  1. This award and lectureship recognizes a woman who is an innovative scientist residing and working in Texas. The nominee must have spent the past two years performing research in Texas.
  2. The nominee’s current work must be anchored in cancer research.
  3. The nominee must be within 10 years of their first faculty appointment or 15 years from their first full-time industry-affiliated position by calendar year (2014 or later for faculty appointment and 2009 or later for industry positions).
  4. TAMEST members are not eligible.
  5. The award and lectureship may only be awarded to an individual. Team nominations are not eligible.
  6. Special consideration will be given to nominees that demonstrate a commitment to service within their community.

For more information, read the Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship Nomination Guide.

Renomination of Candidates from Previous Years
All nominees will be automatically renominated for the following two years after the initial nominations (if the nominee meets all eligibility requirements). If a nominator would like to withdraw a nominee or add new information to the nomination, they may contact TAMEST staff to do so.

Nominator Requirements

Qualified nominators include TAMEST members, university presidents, chancellors, deans, provosts, vice presidents for research, past Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship, Hill Prize and Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards recipients. Multiple nominations from a single institution or organization will be eligible.

Selection Process

A committee of TAMEST members will evaluate nominations and select the finalist. The TAMEST Board of Directors provides final approval of the recipient.

Required Nomination Materials

  • Nomination form.
  • A cover page (sample cover page can be found here) that should include:
    • Nominee’s name, title, organization and year of first faculty or industry appointment.
    • Nominator’s name, title and organization.
    • A brief (50-word maximum) citation indicating how the nominee’s work advances the understanding, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of cancer.
  • A letter from the nominator (two pages maximum) describing the candidate’s outstanding accomplishments associated with cancer research and discovery.
  • Abbreviated nominee biographical sketch. (NIH Biosketches will be accepted.)
  • A list of five (5) of the most important research publications that directly support the candidate’s research accomplishments. For each publication, please include:
    • Title of publication
    • Name of journal
    • Digital object identifier (DOI)
  • All five publications in PDF form that were listed on the previous page

Nomination Information Requirements

The information provided in the nomination materials is crucial to the evaluation of the nominee’s achievements.

  1. A citation statement from the nominator (50-word maximum) defining the field(s) of cancer research in which the nominee excels, their particular discoveries or technological developments and their impact or potential impact on cancer research.
  2. One nomination letter
    • A two-page maximum letter of support from the nominator, which comprehensively describes the importance and direct impact of the nominee’s research as it relates to cancer. The letter must specifically illustrate the innovative research of the candidate and how their work holds promise for continued contributions in the fight against cancer (supported by relevant metrics). Letters detailing how the nominee has demonstrated a commitment to service within their community will be given special consideration.
  3. Abbreviated biographical sketch including:
    • a summary of education, employment, honors and awards, including recognition or awards received from the nominee’s institution or employer (NIH Biographical Sketches may be used);
    • a summary of the nominee’s research interests and activities; and
    • a synopsis of the nominee’s discoveries and research contributions.
      • Additional information on citations, papers, books and reports is welcome.

Submission Deadline

Nominations for the 2025 Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship will open on August 1, 2024, and close on September 30, 2024, at 6:00 PM CT.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Destiny Allen at (512) 232-8495 or destiny.allen@austin.utexas.edu.

Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship Recipients

Nidhi Sahni

2024 Recipient
Nidhi Sahni, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Nidhi Sahni, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is the recipient of the 2024 Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship. She was chosen for her role in identifying novel biomarkers and drug targets, which are expected to have a significant impact on cancer by translating into more effective prognosis and therapy for the disease.

Learn more about Dr. Sahni and her research > 

Florencia McAllister

2023 Recipient
Florencia McAllister, M.D.

Associate Professor
Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Florencia McAllister, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is the recipient of the 2023 Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship. She was chosen for her seminal discoveries at the intersection of microbes, the immune system and pancreatic cancer, leading to insights into early detection, prevention and therapeutic strategies to fight the disease.

Learn more about Dr. McAllister and her research > 

Yun Nancy Huang, Ph.D.

2022 Recipient
Yun Nancy Huang, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Institute of Biosciences and Technology
Texas A&M Health

Yun Nancy Huang, Ph.D., is the 2022 recipient of the TAMEST Mary Beth Maddox Award and Lectureship. Dr. Huang’s research focuses on epigenetics or the “software” that runs the human genome, which is one of the most promising targets for disease prevention.

Learn more about Dr. Huang and her research > 

Committee Members

Photo of Gordon R. England

Founding Chair

Gordon R. England (NAE)

Dyno-Tech

Image of Dr. Ralph J. Deberardinis

Committee Chair

Ralph J. DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM)

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Ronald DePinho

Ronald A. DePinho, M.D. (NAM, NAS)

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Helen Elisabeth Heslop, M.D., D.Sc. (Hon)

Helen Elisabeth Heslop, M.D., D.Sc. (Hon) (NAM)

Baylor College of Medicine

Image of Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez

Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H. (NAM)

UT Health San Antonio

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