International Photodynamic Association Announces 2025 Award Winners at the 19th World Congress in Shanghai
“We are honored to celebrate the remarkable achievements of these outstanding individuals and teams who are driving our field forward,” said Dr. Colin Hopper, President of the IPA. “Our members are a talented and inspired group, united by a commitment to advancing healthcare for people everywhere. The work of our IPA community has improved the lives of millions, helping to prevent and treat cancer, blindness, and serious infections. In a world of uncertainty, these awardees exemplify the spirit of innovation, collaboration, and excellence that defines the IPA.”
The International Photodynamic Association congratulates each of the winners on their well-deserved recognition and thanks them for their contributions to the advancement of photodynamic science and medicine.
2025 IPA Award winners:
Lifetime Achievement Award
• Emeritus Professor Bing Tan, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
For his decades-long contributions to clinical photodynamic therapy and education, including pioneering work in nasopharyngeal cancer treatment and Foscan trials.
• Professor Merrill Biel, University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Heart Institute, USA
For clinical leadership in head and neck cancer PDT, photoimmunotherapy, and antimicrobial PDT.
President’s Award
• Dr. Stuart Bond, Consultant Antimicrobial Pharmacist and Director of Innovation, Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, UK.
For pioneering the first NHS implementation of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (photodisinfection), leading to a 71% reduction in surgical site infections.
Humanitarian Award
• Professor Keith Cengel, Executive Director of the Penn Mesothelioma and Pleural Diseases Program, Director of Photodynamic Therapy, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, USA
For compassionate patient care and life-saving PDT therapies for complex cancers, benefitting underserved patients.
Tayyaba Hasan ImPAct Award
• Institute of Photomedicine, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, China and Shanghai Fudan Zhangjiang Bio-Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., China
For longstanding collaboration to successfully bring PDT into China.
Award for Significant Advancement of PDT
• Professor Xiuli Wang, Director, Institute of Photomedicine, Tongji University School of Medicine; Professor and Chief Physician, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, China
For 30+ years of groundbreaking clinical and translational work in dermatologic PDT, including development of national clinical guidelines and innovative treatment protocols.
• Professor Keyvan Moghissi, Director, Yorkshire Laser Centre, United Kingdom
For pioneering photodynamic therapy in thoracic oncology and advancing early clinical applications of PDT in the UK.
Team Clinical PDT Research Excellence Award
• Li Changling, Tian Jun, Hu Linjun, Li Haitao, Jiang Huanrong, Song Xiaodong, Ye Zhangqun, Zhang Huiping, and He Wei
For intravesical PDT for bladder cancer and recurrence prevention, resulting in national adoption and dramatically improved recurrence rates. Representing:
• National Cancer Center/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing and Shenzhen, China
• Cancer Hospital of Huanxing, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
• Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Clinical PDT Research Excellence Award
• Professor Xiuli Wang, Director, Institute of Photomedicine, Tongji University School of Medicine; Professor and Chief Physician, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, China
For clinical protocol development for genital warts, acne, skin malignancies.
Basic PDT Research Excellence Award
• Dr. Imran Rizvi, Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Dartmouth College, USA
For research that is helping to enhance PDT efficacy and treatment outcomes by improving how light and drugs are delivered and creating advanced models that more accurately mimic human disease.
Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow Award
• Dr. Carla Arnau del Valle, Postdoctoral Fellow, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
For nanomaterials for targeted cancer PDT and leadership in photobiology.
Early Investigator Award
• Dr. Yanfang Feng, Investigator, Instructor, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School, USA & China
For pioneering research in PDT for wound/burn infections, bacterial persisters, and sepsis.
• Dr. Daniel Teh, Assistant Professor, Departments of Ophthalmology, Anatomy and Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore Centre for Life Sciences, Singapore
For groundbreaking work in wireless, implantable light systems for deep tissue PDT.
• Dr. Cari Whyne, Program Director, Holland Bone and Joint Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Canada
For musculoskeletal PDT and clinical demonstration of nasal PDT against SARS-CoV-2.
About Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a combination therapy involving light activated photosensitizers to diagnose and treat various types and stages of cancers and pre-cancers, macular degeneration and multidrug-resistant infections involving bacteria, viruses and fungi.
PDT traces its scientific roots to the early 20th century, when researchers first observed that certain dyes could render cells sensitive to light. Over the decades, PDT has evolved from a laboratory curiosity into a transformative clinical modality, with the first modern clinical applications emerging in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, PDT has been used to treat a wide range of cancers, pre-cancerous conditions, and infections, with growing applications in ophthalmology and dermatology. The IPA and its members have played a pivotal role in this journey, advancing the science, clinical protocols, and global adoption of PDT, photoimmunotherapy, and photodiagnosis.
About the IPA
Founded in 1986, the International Photodynamic Association (IPA) is a global organization dedicated to advancing the research, education, and clinical use of photodynamic technologies across medical and biological fields. With members in over 30 countries, the IPA brings together a worldwide community of leading scientists, clinical and translational researchers, healthcare professionals, and students from academia, hospitals, government and industry.
The IPA promotes the study and application of light-activated photosensitizers for diagnosis and treatment, and actively disseminates scientific knowledge to its members, the broader research community, and the public. Every two years, the IPA hosts a World Congress—an international forum for sharing the latest developments in photodynamic therapy, photoimmunotherapy, and photodiagnosis.
For more information, visit: www.internationalphotodynamic.com
Media Contact:
International Photodynamic Association
ipasecretary@internationalphotodynamic.com
Colin Hopper
International Photodynamic Association (IPA)
07903113675
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