Dr. David Lyden, the Stavros S. Niarchos Professor in Pediatric Cardiology and a pediatric neuro-oncologist, has been honored with the AACR–Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship from the American Association for Cancer Research, recognizing his transformative contributions to cancer research.
The award, supported by the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund, recognizes scientists whose innovative and groundbreaking research has demonstrated a far-reaching impact on the detection, diagnosis, treatment or prevention of cancer. Dr. Lyden will deliver the lecture, titled “Extracellular vesicles and particles drive the systemic complications of cancer,” April 19 during AACR’s annual meeting in San Diego.
“I am humbled to receive this prestigious award highlighting the legacy of Princess Takamatsu and thankful for the support by the Princess Takamatsu Cancer Research Fund and AACR,” said Dr. Lyden. “The lectureship will offer the opportunity to highlight our work on the impact of extracellular vesicles on the systemic effects of cancer.”
A pioneering physician-scientist, Dr. Lyden defined the concept of the pre-metastatic niche and revealed how tumor-derived small extracellular vesicles or exosomes drive cancer spread. His work illuminated how exosomes carry tumor-specific signatures and act as “zip codes,” directing metastasis to specific organs—helping to solve a longstanding oncologic mystery. He also developed advanced technologies, including asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation, leading to the discovery of new nanoparticles that he called exomeres. Dr. Lyden’s work on extracellular vesicles laid the foundation for the National Institutes of Health to include extracellular vesicle research into its policy and to issue calls for developing standard methodologies for exomeres’ isolation and characterization.
Dr. Lyden’s research has had major clinical implications, demonstrating that exosomal proteins can serve as liquid biopsies for early cancer detection across multiple cancer types. More recently, the research in Dr. Lyden’s laboratory has focused on the systemic effects of cancer mediated by tumor-derived exosomes and exomeres, which can also travel to and can be taken up by organs where the tumor does not metastasize, dramatically altering the function of these organs. Dr. Lyden uncovered the mechanisms through which extracellular vesicles and particles drive deleterious systemic effects of cancer, such as liver metabolic dysfunction and cancer-associated thrombosis.
Dr. Lyden has been an AACR member since 2007. For 15 consecutive years, he has participated as a speaker and/or a chairperson at educational sessions, major symposiums, or plenary sessions. He has also been an editorial board member for the flagship AACR journal, Cancer Research, since 2012. Dr. Lyden has been a member of several AACR committees, including the Tumor Microenvironment Working Group Steering Committee and the Cancer Molecular Imaging and Theranostics Task Force. He has served as a member of the 2012-2013 AACR Annual Meeting Education Committee, participated in the 2025 AACR-Mark Foundation For Cancer Research-Lusgarten Foundation Early Detection Workshop: Solving the Early-Stage Detection of Recalcitrant Cancers and, most recently, he has served as co-chair of the 2025-2026 AACR Annual Meeting Program Committee.
An elected member of the Association of American Physicians and elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dr. Lyden has received numerous awards and honors, including the NIH R35 Outstanding Investigator Award for his insightful work on the systemic effects of metastasis, the Princess Lilian Foundation Award for his innovative research and dedication to mentoring, and the Paget-Ewing Award of the Metastasis Research Society in recognition of his critical contributions to the understanding of the metastatic process. Most recently, he was honored by the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles with the Special Achievement Award, for his pioneering work in the field.
Beyond his enduring scientific impact, he is a dedicated mentor and founder of a physician-scientist training program at Weill Cornell Medicine.