Highlights from the 6th SUNRiSE Meeting 2026 – Bordeaux (Talence)

4th Prize of the SUNRiSE is awarded to Professor Marc DAWSON

The SUNRiSE network is proud to present the 4th SUNRiSE Award to Professor Mark Dawson in recognition of his major contributions to our understanding of tumor heterogeneity and, in particular, of the role of epigenetic regulation in shaping cancer cell states, plasticity, evolution, and therapeutic resistance.
Professor Mark Dawson is a physician-scientist and internationally recognised leader in cancer epigenetics. After medical and haematology training in Melbourne, he completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge, followed by a Wellcome Beit Fellowship focused on the epigenetic regulation of leukaemia stem cells. He subsequently established his research programme at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Melbourne, where his work has explored chromatin regulation, cancer stem cells, clonality, and non-genetic mechanisms of therapeutic resistance.

His research has provided important insights into how epigenetic mechanisms shape cancer initiation, evolution and treatment response, while also contributing to the development of novel epigenetic therapeutic strategies. His scientific achievements have been recognised by numerous distinctions, including the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, the McCulloch & Till Award and the 2020 Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and EMBO.
Through this award, the SUNRiSE community wishes to recognise not only the scientific impact of Mark Dawson’s work, but also his contribution to advancing our understanding of the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of cancer.

Picture: Raphael Rodriguez, Marc Dawson and Christophe Ginestier