Since 2003, the IMF has honored an outstanding physician each year with the Robert A. Kyle Lifetime Achievement Award. The award, named for its first recipient, is presented to an individual whose body of work in the field of multiple myeloma has made significant advances in research, treatment, and care of myeloma patients.
Our honorees’ work reflects the words of Dr. William Mayo, founder of Mayo Clinic, who challenged the nature of patient care nearly a century ago when he said “The needs of the patient are the only needs to be considered.”
2025 Awardee:
This year’s Robert A. Kyle Lifetime Achievement Awardee is Sagar Lonial, MD, who is internationally recognized as a leading authority in myeloma treatment and research. He is Chair and Professor at the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Lonial is also Chief Medical Officer of the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. He serves as co-chair of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Myeloma Committee, as a board member of the IMF Scientific Advisory Board, and as co-chair of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) Scientific Advisory Board.
Dr. Lonial is the myeloma editor for Clinical Lymphoma and Myeloma, an Associate Editor for the JCO Journal of Oncology Practice, and a former section editor for Cancer. Dr. Lonial is also an ad hoc reviewer for Blood, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Haematologica, Leukemia, and other journals, and has authored or co-authored over 400 papers and abstracts.
Dr. Lonial has worked in the field of immunother¬apy and cancer. He has spent time developing the B-cell malignancy program with respect to novel targeted agents in laboratory models as well as early clinical trials. His previous labora¬tory work focused on evaluating the impact of purified dendritic cell subsets on the nature of immune responses against antigen. Most recently, Dr. Lonial has focused on combinations of novel agents as therapy for myeloma and lymphoma.
His notable accolades include the Celgene Young Investigator Award, the Indo American Cancer Association (IACA) Lifetime Achievement Award, and the COMy Multiple Myeloma Excellence Award for Clinical Science. He is also a Giants of Cancer Care inductee and currently holds the Anne and Bernard Gray Family Chair in Cancer.
