2025 ASTRO Mentorship Awards
ASTRO congratulates this year’s recipients of the 2025 Mentorship Award: Iris Gibbs, MD, FASTRO, Stanford Medicine; Helen Shih, MD, MS, MPH, FASTRO, Massachusetts General Hospital; and Joachim Yahalom, MD, FASTRO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The award recognizes mentors in radiation oncology who have demonstrated outstanding commitment to the professional development of their mentees as clinicians, educators and researchers. Please join us in recognizing them during the Awards Ceremony at the Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Iris Gibbs, MD, FASTRO
Iris Gibbs, MD, FASTRO, is a Professor of Radiation Oncology, Professor of Neurosurgery, by courtesy, and senior physician at Stanford School of Medicine who served as Associate Dean of Medical Student Admissions for nearly a decade. Amidst her many illustrious roles, the achievement she is proudest of is the opportunity she has taken to transform medical education, advocating for more equitable approaches to evaluating talent and expanding access to training for individuals from all backgrounds. She has worked to open doors and build systems that “recognize excellence beyond traditional metrics — so that brilliance, potential, and dedication are not overlooked due to lack of familiarity with institutional norms, to create environments where the brightest minds can thrive — regardless of where they come from.” She notes that many of her own mentors did not look like her or share her background, but saw beyond the surface, which shaped her own approach, to affirm the unique potential she sees and remove barriers to fulfilling it.
She views mentorship as both the catalyst and the compass for her career, describing its impact: “As first-generation in my family to earn higher education, mentorship changed my life — and mentorship of others ensures that while I may have been first in many respects, I won’t be the last. True mentorship sees potential others may overlook, challenges with kindness, and creates a lasting legacy by widening access to achieve excellence.”
One of her own colleagues captured it well: “Dr. Gibbs’ mentorship extends to all levels, from underrepresented children in the community through her non-profit initiatives to pre-med students, medical students, residents, and junior faculty. Dr. Gibbs’ ability to mentor across such a broad spectrum of individuals is a testament to her versatility and deep understanding of the unique challenges faced at each stage of a medical career.”
Dr. Gibbs sums up her impactful approach: “Mentorship has been both the compass and the engine behind my journey. I often reflect on the saying, ‘Gratitude is the memory of the heart.’ For me, mentorship is deeply rooted in gratitude — for the mentors who guided me, challenged me, and believed in me, often before I believed in myself. Mentorship, to me, is a commitment to legacy — it is how we multiply impact across generations. I encourage all potential mentors to embrace mentorship not simply as a responsibility, but as a powerful mindset. Mentorship isn’t about having all the answers — it’s about being present, listening deeply, seeing the best in others, and helping them see it in themselves.”
Helen Shih, MD, MS, MPH, FASTRO
Helen Shih, MD, MS, MPH, FASTRO, is a Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, and Vice-chair of New Technologies and Proton Therapy at Mass General Brigham Enterprise Radiation Oncology. Her practice in caring for central nervous system and ocular tumor patients is based at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Shih has served as an Associate Senior Editor for the Red Journal, chaired the ASTRO annual meeting scientific program CNS track, served on the ASTRO science council, ASTRO nominating committee, ASTRO mentoring program, and led or participated in several ASTRO evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. In particular, Dr. Shih takes exceptional pride in the excellence in clinical care that her team delivers. She notes that she adopted how to guide effective team practices from her own mentors, to deliver the best patient care and to advance the best in medicine. As such, her team is one marked by mutual respect, admiration and gratitude among care providers and extended to patients. Her leadership has set the tone, and this environment ultimately contributes to the patient experience. She takes a unique joy of passing it forward to her mentees and hopes their careers and personal happiness have benefited from the broader perspectives that mentorship provides.
She shares: “We have all had mentors along the way who have helped to shape our views, to motivate or affirm our interests, and to guide us through challenging times. It is a special gift to share our life’s lessons learned to assist others. The personal satisfaction of mentorship is an intangible yet incredible reward and the goodwill almost always brings us together in mutual appreciation and simply makes the world a better place.”
Dr. Shih’s mentorship is perhaps so effective for its authenticity and approachability. Her mentees have mentioned how honest she is about her own challenges, and “her willingness to share both her successes and struggles makes her mentorship even more impactful. While providing important encouragement and guidance, Dr. Shih is an advisor who is never afraid to provide constructive feedback,” and that she “was not just a mentor — she was a bridge and an amplifier, creating a sense of community and an environment where her mentees could make meaningful connections and thrive.”
Joachim Yahalom, MD, FASTRO
Joachim Yahalom, MD, FASTRO, is radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, founder and Chair of the International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group (ILROG), and professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. One of his mentees shared, “His guidance extended far beyond professional advice — he provided encouragement, opportunities, and a vision for what I could achieve as I launched my career.” This kind of praise is a natural result of Dr. Yahalom strategically handing over the stage to mentees so that they have opportunities to demonstrate their capabilities.
In addition, Dr. Yahalom’s leadership has shown incredible foresight and dedication. For example, his establishment of ILROG has fostered a global collaborative network, creating a platform for future oncologists to advance their skills in lymphoma radiation therapy, many of whom were his former mentees. One shares: “his ability to inspire, challenge, and elevate those around him is unparalleled. More than just imparting knowledge, he has taught me what it truly means to be a mentor — leading by example, advocating for others, and investing deeply and selflessly in their success.”
Join us as we celebrate and applaud the 2025 Mentorship Award winners on Tuesday, September 30, during the ASTRO Awards Ceremony.
