2025 Peter Mac Sambrook Prizes for Research Excellence
12 December 2025
The 2025 Joseph F. Sambrook Prize for Research Excellence has been awarded to Professor Ben Solomon (pictured right) for clinical research and to Dr Jack Chan, Dr Christina Scheffler, Dr Isabelle Munoz, Dr Junyun Lai, Professor Paul Beavis and Professor Phillip Darcy for laboratory research.
The prize is awarded annually to honour the great contribution of Professor Joe Sambrook in establishing and enhancing cancer research at Peter Mac, and recognises the Peter Mac researchers who have made the most important published discovery during the previous two calendar years.
This year the selection panel decided that to recognise the diversity of research undertaken at Peter Mac there should be two awards for the first time, one for laboratory and one for clinical research.
Professor Ben Solomon was awarded for his 2024 Journal of Clinical Oncology paper titled ‘Lorlatinib Versus Crizotinib in Patients With Advanced ALK-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: 5-Year Outcomes From the Phase III CROWN Study’. Read the study here.
Professor Ricky Johnstone, Executive Director of Cancer Research, said the judges described the publication as outstanding, and recognised both the impact that it’s had in the field and the benefit to patients.
“The results of the research were presented at the American Society of Oncology meeting and in the Journal of Clinical Oncology simultaneously, highlighting the importance of this research,” he said.
“This was a Peter Mac-led international clinical trial that has shown a remarkable advancement in lung cancer.”
Professor Johnstone congratulated Dr Jack Chan, Dr Christina Scheffler, Dr Isabelle Munoz, Dr Junyun Lai, Professor Paul Beavis and Professor Phillip Darcy on receiving the 2025 Sambrook Prize for laboratory research for their 2024 Nature paper titled ‘FOXO1 enhances CAR T cell stemness, metabolic fitness and efficacy’.
“The judges felt that this publication encapsulates all the qualities of Peter Mac,” he said.
“It has five-star excellent science, covers basic discovery through to translation, and has a big impact with a definite wow factor.
“To be recognised with this award is incredibly special as it honours Professor Joe Sambrook, who was the first Director of Research at Peter Mac.
“Our sincerest thanks to the Gething-Sambrook Family Foundation who generously fund this award through the Peter Mac Foundation,” said Professor Johnstone.
You can read more about the laboratory research into FOXO1 here, and more about Professor Solomon’s lung cancer clinical research here.