Iwona Ługowska

Professor Iwona Ługowska is a clinical oncologist and Head of the Centre of Excellence for Precision Oncology at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology in Warsaw, Poland. She also serves as the Director’s Plenipotentiary for International Affairs. In 2017, she established and led Poland’s first Early Phase Clinical Trials Unit for oncology. She is Vice President of the Organisation of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) and a Board Member of the EURACAN European Reference Network for rare cancers, where she is also the lead author of the clinical practice guidelines for Merkel Cell Carcinoma. She previously served as Chair of the ESMO Educational Publishing Working Group and as a Board Member of EORTC. Prof. Ługowska actively contributes to European cancer policy through the Mission Cancer initiative and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. She currently leads the JANE 2 Joint Action focused on poor prognosis cancers. She has authored numerous scientific publications, including several ESMO handbooks. She received clinical and research training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Centre in Newcastle. She also completed the MBA Essentials Programme at the London School of Economics. Her achievements have earned her multiple honors, including the ASCO IDEA Award, the Golden Cross of Merit awarded by the President of Poland (2022), and the Wprost Eagles of Science Award (2023).