History of the Winn Award Programs

The Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Award Program (Winn Awards) was established in 2020 by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation with the goal of increasing diversity in clinical trials and transforming the clinical research landscape.

The Winn Awards are programs for physicians and rising medical students at various points in their career pathway. The Winn Career Development Award (Winn CDA) and the Winn Clinical Investigator Pathway Program (Winn CIPP) are led by the Winn Award implementation team at the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. The Winn Clinical Investigator Leadership Awards (Winn CILA) are implemented by collaborating organizations: Conquer Cancer the ASCO Foundation and the American Heart Association.

About Dr. Winn

The namesake of the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Award Program–Robert A. Winn, MD, director of the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center–is leading the nation in establishing a 21st-century model for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine workforce, eliminating health disparities, mentoring upcoming leaders in health, and spearheading interdisciplinary approaches to research.

Dr. Winn also serves as the Chair of the Winn Awards’ National Advisory Committee.

Read Dr. Winn’s full biography.  

Funding Partners

The Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trial Award Program is made possible by the generous contributions of our funders.

Implementation Partners

The following organizations provide implementation for the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trial Award Program.

American Association for Cancer Research logo

Implementation Collaborators

Team

The Winn Awards are supported by a team based at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Joy L. Jones, PhD

Executive Director, Winn Awards

Rebekah Broad

Executive Assistant

Ali Gemma, MPH

Director, Recruitment & Award Administration, Winn CDA

Rosa Roncales, MAT

Program Coordinator, Winn CDA

Ariana Lee

Director, Scholar and Curriculum Administration, Winn CDA

Caitlin Wall, MS

Program Coordinator, Winn CDA

Allison McLarin, M.Ed

Program Coordinator, Winn CDA

Desiree Y. Vasquez

Director, Winn CIPP

Katelyn Evans

Sr. Program Coordinator, Winn CIPP

National Advisory Committee

CHAIR

Robert A. Winn, MD

  • Director, Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Senior Associate Dean for Cancer Innovation
  • Professor, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine
  • Virginia Commonwealth University

MEMBERS

Leon Bernal-Mizrachi, MD

Emory University School of Medicine; Grady Health Systems

Associate Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology; Service Chief, Hematology and Medical Oncology; Associate Director, Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship Program

Glenn Dillon, PhD

American Heart Association

National Vice President of Research and Grants

Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (HC)

American Association for Cancer Research

Chief Executive Officer

Sharon Hanlon, MSN

Bristol Myers Squibb

Head of Clinical Trial Engagement

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD

Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center; Yale School of Medicine

Ensign Professor of Medicine; Professor of Pharmacology; Chief of Medical Oncology; Director, Thoracic Oncology Research Program; Associate Director for Translational Research

Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO

American Society of Clinical Oncology

Chief Executive Officer

Joy L. Jones, PhD

VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center

Executive Director, Winn Awards

Gail Kerr, MD

Howard University

Howard University Hospital Chief of Rheumatology; Professor of Medicine

Jamie Langley, RN, MSN

Parexel Academy

Global Head

Patricia LoRusso, DO

Yale School of Medicine

Professor of Medicine; Chief, Experimental Therapeutics; Associate Cancer Center Director; Experimental Therapeutics

Jill Massey, PharmD, MBA, BCMAS

Gilead Sciences

Vice President, Global Medical Strategic Operations

Giselle Melendez, MD

Wake Forest School of Medicine

Assistant Professor, Cardiology

Ruben A. Mesa, MD, FACP

Enterprise Cancer Service Line Atrium Health

President, Enterprise Cancer Service Line Atrium Health; Executive Director, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center; Enterprise Senior Vice President Atrium Health; Vice Dean for Cancer Programs, Wake Forest School of Medicine; Professor of Medicine Wake Forest School of Medicine

Lucio Miele, MD, PhD

LSU School of Medicine

Professor and Department Head, LSU School of Medicine, Department of Genetics; Assistant Dean for Translational Science
Director for Inter-Institutional Programs, LSU Stanley Scott Cancer Center; Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium
Cancer Crusaders Endowed Professor in Cancer Research

Edith P. Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCPP

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health

Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology, Department of Medical Oncology; Director, Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities; Associate Director, Diversity Affairs

Jude Ngang, PharmD

Amgen

Executive Director, Representation in Clinical Research (RISE)

Anekwe Onwuanyi, MD, FACC

Association of Black Cardiologists

President of Association of Black Cardiologists; Professor of Medicine/Chief of Cardiology, Morehouse School of Medicine; Advanced Heart Failure Consultant; Medical Director, Grady Hospital Heart Failure Program; Co-Chair, Grady Heart and Vascular Center

Taofeek Owonikoko, MD, PhD

Division Chief, Division of Hematology-Oncology

Director

Amanda Pears Kelly

Chief Executive Officer, Advocates for Community Health; Executive Director, Association of Clinicians for the Underserved

Eliseo Perez-Stable, MD

National Institute on Minority Health and Disparities (NIMHD)

Director

Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO

Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan

Professor, Radiation Oncology; Vice Provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs

Ileana Pina, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA, FHFSA

Jefferson Health

Cardiologist

Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, MPH

UT Health San Antonio

Director and Professor, Institute for Health Promotion Research, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Brian Rivers, PhD, MPH

Morehouse School of Medicine

Director, Cancer Health Equity Institute, National Center for Primary Care

Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH

America’s Essential Hospitals

President & CEO

Hannah A. Valantine, MD

Stanford University Medical Center

Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine

Annabelle Santos Volgman, MD, FACC, FAHA

Rush University

McMullan-Eybel Chair of Excellence in Clinical Cardiology; Professor of Medicine, Rush College of Medicine; Medical Director, Rush Heart Center for Women, Rush University Medical Center

Donald K. Warne, MD, MPH

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Co-Director, Center for Indigenous Health; Professor, Public Health

Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD

Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Executive Director

Winston Wong, MD, FAACP

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Scholar-in-Residence, UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity