UH Cancer Center researcher Carbone awarded Szent-Györgyi Prize for pioneering cancer research

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Carbone headshot, logo attached

University of Hawai'i Cancer Center researcher Dr. Michele Carbone has been named the recipient of the distinguished 2026 Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, the National Foundation for Cancer Research has announced.

The honor, awarded by a blue-ribbon committee of 13 leading cancer researchers and clinicians, recognizes Carbone's groundbreaking discovery that susceptibility to mesothelioma - a rare and lethal cancer of the lining of the lungs and abdomen - can be transmitted through families in a Mendelian fashion, driven by inherited mutations in the gene BAP1.

The finding has transformed how the disease is understood, diagnosed, treated and prevented worldwide, and driven historic public policy changes that have saved lives across generations, the foundation said.

"There is nothing as rewarding as saving lives, telling someone, actually you, your daughter, your son, do not have to die of cancer, you probably will live till old age, and then to see them again, year after year, happy," Carbone said. "I am incredibly fortunate that my research allowed me to do exactly that. Our research even inspired government action to protect public health in the USA and in Turkey. I had the fortune to work with a truly fantastic team of students, technicians, post-doctoral fellows and collaborators: Drs. Harvey Pass and Haining Yang, with whom I shared all failures and successes for almost 30 years."

"Dr. Carbone's career exemplifies everything this prize stands for: a seminal discovery that opened a new field, and the persistence to translate that discovery into direct benefit for patients and communities around the world," said Sujuan Ba, President and CEO of the National Foundation for Cancer Research. "We are proud to honor him and celebrate his extraordinary achievements across the globe."

"Dr. Carbone has pursued a lifelong body of work that required extraordinary scientific courage," said selection committee member Dr. Bruce Beutler, Nobel Laureate and Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "He began with a rare cancer and a known environmental association, applied rigorous field epidemiology to an exposed population on the other side of the world, and tracked down a susceptibility gene that broke open the entire field of mesothelioma pathogenesis. His discoveries have brought great clarity to what had been a longstanding medical mystery, and given real hope to patients and families who previously had none."

"Dr. Michele Carbone's recognition with the Szent-Györgyi Prize is a proud and historic moment for the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center," said Dr. Naoto T. Ueno, Director of the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center. "His work represents the highest standard of cancer research: rigorous science that leads to landmark discovery and ultimately saves lives. By identifying inherited BAP1 mutations as a driver of mesothelioma risk, Dr. Carbone changed how we understand cancer susceptibility, prevention, and early intervention. His discoveries have protected families and communities in Hawaiʻi, the U.S., Turkey, and around the world, and they reflect the kind of global impact we strive to advance from Hawaiʻi."

Carbone will receive the prize at the NFCR Global Summit and Award Ceremonies for Cancer Research & Entrepreneurship on October 9, 2026, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This event unites the full cancer research ecosystem - from leading scientists, doctors, and entrepreneurs to patients and supporters - all gathered to share ideas and advance the fight against cancer.

Driving transformation in Turkey, U.S.

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the membranes that cover the lungs and abdomen. About 3,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S., resulting in roughly 2,500 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. In Hawaiʻi, around 10 cases are reported each year.

Through Carbone's work for more than a decade in villages in Cappadocia, Turkey, where residents were heavily exposed to erionite, a carcinogenic mineral fiber, and where half of all residents died of mesothelioma, he demonstrated that genetic predisposition, not environmental exposure alone, determined who developed the disease. He then identified germline BAP1 mutations as the cause of a novel cancer syndrome, characterized by mesothelioma alongside eye and skin melanoma, renal, breast, bladder, and other cancers. His subsequent research into the molecular mechanisms of BAP1 tumor suppressor activity has reshaped the entire field of mesothelioma research, the foundation said.

Carbone's findings also have driven transformative public health action, the foundation said: in Cappadocia in Turkey, his research prompted the government to build two new villages and hospitals, and relocate genetically susceptible populations away from carcinogenic erionite fibers. In North Dakota, his work led the state government to repave more than 300 miles of erionite-contaminated roads, protecting children who had been exposed through dust raised by traffic.

Worldwide impact of research

Today, BAP1 genetic testing and BAP1 immunohistochemical staining are standard practices in medicine worldwide, enabling clinicians to identify patients with the BAP1 cancer syndrome and implement personalized surveillance, early detection, and effective intervention. Patients with germline BAP1 mutations who are monitored and treated early survive significantly longer, and several of them died of old age, compared with those with sporadic mesothelioma - a disease that, when caused by asbestos, has a median survival of 6 to 18 months. The U.S. National Cancer Institute has opened two clinical trials directly in response to Carbone's discoveries that validated his findings, the foundation said.

"What makes Michele Carbone's work so noteworthy is that it did not stop with his notable scientific discoveries," said award committee member Dr. Webster K. Cavenee, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego. "He worked with governments in Turkey and in the United States to fix the environmental conditions that were killing people, and he succeeded. The result is not just thousands of lives saved, but generations of people who will never develop these cancers because of the action he inspired. The courage that took - scientific, personal, and political - is remarkable and entirely consistent with the longstanding goals of the NFCR."

At the University of Hawai'i Cancer Center, Carbone is Director of Thoracic Oncology, professor (researcher) and full member of the Cancer Biology program. He is Special Health and Science Advisor to Gov. Josh Green, State of Hawaiʻi; and William & Ellen Melohn Chair in Cancer Biology & Human Cancer Genetics. Carbone is also a professor, Department of Pathology, John A. Burns School of Medicine at UH.

Carbone joins past winners of this prestigious award such as Dr. Tony Hunter, who discovered tyrosine phosphorylation, revealing how cells transmit growth signals; Dr. Dennis J. Slamon, who transformed breast cancer treatment through his pioneering identification of the HER2/neu oncogene; and Dr. Isaac P. Witz, recognized for his contributions demonstrating the flow of information and signaling between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment as critical factors for understanding tumor growth and spreading.

The Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research was established in 2006 by the National Foundation for Cancer Research in honor of its co-founder, Albert Szent-Györgyi, M.D., Ph.D., recipient of the 1937 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine. The Szent-Györgyi Prize honors scientists who have made seminal discoveries that not only have transformed scientific understanding of cancer but also have directly or indirectly impacted clinical practice and public health, saving lives today. The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing scientists in the lab with the critical seed funding they need to make game-changing discoveries in cancer detection, treatments, prevention, and ultimately, a cure for all cancers.

About The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center

The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center is dedicated to saving lives in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. It is inspiring hope by working to conquer cancer. The flagship priority is to understand and address cancer health disparities. The center strives to achieve this through research, education, patient care, and community outreach, focusing on the unique and diverse ethnic, cultural, and environmental characteristics of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

The UH Cancer Center is one of only 74 institutions designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), representing a significant mark of excellence, and is the only NCI-designated cancer center in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. The center contributes more than $57 million to Hawai'i's economy through scientific research, clinical trials, and other activities.

As part of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the UH Cancer Center operates out of facilities located in Kakaʻako. The center directly employs more than 300 faculty and staff, with an additional 200 affiliate members and cooperative agreements with organizations that are part of the Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium. The consortium includes The Queen's Health Systems, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, Kuakini Medical Center, Adventist Health Castle, Hilo Benioff Medical Center, Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association (HMSA), and the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), all working together with the UH Cancer Center to advance cancer research and treatment in the state.

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