Roswell Park Blood Cancer Expert Honored With Prestigious GVHD Research Award 

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The GVHD Alliance last week honored Shernan Holtan, MD, Chief of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Professor of Medicine at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, as the recipient of the 2025 Lukas D. Wartman Award. This recognition acknowledges Dr. Holtan’s groundbreaking contributions to improving outcomes for patients battling graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a common complication of stem cell and bone marrow transplantation. 

Named for Lukas Wartman, MD, an oncologist and leukemia survivor, the award celebrates a medical professional who exemplifies persistent dedication to improving GVHD care, embraces innovative approaches to improving outcomes, advances scientific progress in GVHD research, and advocates for patients impacted by the disease. 

Dr. Holtan co-led the development of new strategies that are improving prevention and treatment of GVHD, one of which was reported in a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Her clinical work and research focus on ways to reduce organ toxicity and relapse for patients undergoing blood stem cell transplantation  (BMT) and to expand the benefits of transplant and cell therapies for people with nonmalignant conditions.

“Shernan is a remarkably gifted physician-scientist who has applied depths of knowledge, energy, creativity and commitment to some of the most unrelenting challenges in hematology, transforming clinical care and outcomes for the better,” says Renier Brentjens, MD, PhD, Deputy Director, Chair of Medicine and The Katherine Anne Gioia Endowed Chair in Cancer Medicine at Roswell Park. 

“I am deeply honored to receive the Lukas D. Wartman Award,” says Dr. Holtan. “It’s really an incredible time in our field where we are able to see progress unfolding in real time. The resilience of our patients inspires us every day to expand the possibilities for long-term cancer remission and prevention or control of GVHD.”

The award was presented Feb. 14 during the 2025 Tandem Meetings of ASTCT and CIBMTR at the Hawai'i Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The GVHD Alliance is composed of several organizations that advance blood cancer research and advocate for patients. Its members are the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT), BMTinfonet, Cell Therapy Transplant Canada (CTTC), Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS), Meredith Cowden Foundation, nbmtLINK and NMDP, or National Marrow Donor Program. 

For more information on Roswell Park’s blood and marrow transplantation program and expertise in GVHD care, visit roswellpark.org/bmt. 

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From the world’s first chemotherapy research to the PSA prostate cancer biomarker, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center generates innovations that shape how cancer is detected, treated and prevented worldwide. Driven to eliminate cancer’s grip on humanity, the Roswell Park team of 4,000 makes compassionate, patient-centered cancer care and services accessible across New York State and beyond. Founded in 1898, Roswell Park was among the first three cancer centers nationwide to become a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and is the only one to hold this designation in Upstate New York. To learn more about Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Roswell Park Care Network, visit www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email ASKRoswell@RoswellPark.org.