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Keith Lawson is the 2021 winner of an annual award recognizing the best doctoral thesis in the University of Toronto’s Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research.

Lawson completed his PhD in the lab of Jason Moffat, a professor of molecular genetics in the Donnelly Centre, where he investigated how cancer becomes resistant to treatment. The research was part of Lawson’s medical training in the surgeon scientist program at ��˾��ֱ��’s department of surgery and it was preceded by three years of residency in the clinic.

“I think it’s important for clinicians to stay engaged in discovery science,” says Lawson. “Having our perspective is important right from the discovery side of things and I think that helps us ask clinically meaningful questions.”

During his PhD, Lawson found a way to starve cancer cells of key nutrients in order to shrink tumours, publishing his findings in the journal Nature Metabolism. In another study, published in Nature, he discovered almost 200 genes which hold clues to making cancer immunotherapy available to more patients.

“Keith was an outstanding student with an incredible drive to use systematic genetics approaches for clinically relevant questions related to cancer,” says Moffat. “He was passionate about kidney cancer and made important discoveries related to lipid metabolism and cytotoxic T lymphocyte killing of cancer cells.”