The Vision of Hope Award is presented to a person or organization through public or private actions has resulted in the advancement of care, treatment or awareness for sarcoma patients. The honoree impacts the lives of sarcoma patients and survivors providing them hope for a better future and whose achievements provide increased hope for better patient outcomes.

David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc
Associate Professor of Medicine, Translational Medicine & Human Genetics
Associate Director, Patient Impact, Orphan Disease Center, University of Pennsylvania
Co-Founder, Every Cure

David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, is a physician-scientist at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the youngest professors to receive tenure in the history of Penn Medicine, the co-Founder & President of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), co-Founder and President of Every Cure, and the national bestselling author of Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope Into Action.  Dr. Fajgenbaum is also a patient battling a deadly disease for which he discovered a repurposed treatment that is saving his life.

Through his work at Penn and the CDCN, he has identified and advanced repurposed treatments for 16 additional diseases. Due to his work in, and his own experience with, repurposed treatments, Dr. Fajgenbaum was able to help his uncle Michael when he was diagnosed with metastatic angiosarcoma. In 2016, Dr. Fajgenbaum went into action to try to find a potential treatment that could be repurposed. He uncovered a study from 2013 suggesting that angiosarcoma may be susceptible to immunotherapy and tested his uncle’s tumor for a particular marker. When the test came back positive, his uncle pioneered the use of pembrolizumab, which put him into remission and has become an established treatment for angiosarcoma.  Because of these experiences, Dr. Fajgenbaum co-founded Every Cure to unlock the full potential of FDA-approved medicines to treat every disease possible with repurposed drugs. 

One of the youngest awardees of multiple top NIH and FDA grants, Dr. Fajgenbaum has published scientific papers in high-impact journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation, including a paper selected as one of the top innovations in science and medicine of 2020. He has been profiled by The New York Times, TODAY, GMA, USA TODAY, Forbes 30 Under 30, and received numerous awards, including the 2016 Atlas Award along with then-VP Joe Biden, the 2022 NDRI Service to Science Award along with Nobel Laureates Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, and the 2023 Philadelphia Citizen of the Year Award. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA. Dr. Fajgenbaum earned a BS from Georgetown University, MSc from the University of Oxford, MD from the University of Pennsylvania, and MBA from The Wharton School.

 The Nobility in Science Award is given annually to a deserving visionary, who has been a leading sarcoma researcher and has taken on an integral role in advancing treatments for sarcoma patients. Awardees receiving this honor have contributed in a significant way to the advancement of science, knowledge of sarcoma and works tirelessly to find new and innovative approaches for treating this rare cancer.

Cristina R. Antonescu, MD

Dr. Antonescu’s career as a sarcoma pathologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center started in 1999 under the mentorship of two historical figures, Drs. Andrew Huvos and James Woodruff, who have shaped her aspirations toward an academic career in studying bone and soft tissue tumors. In 2004, as a result of a KO8 award, she started my own sarcoma research laboratory, dedicated to the detection and molecular characterization of diagnostic and prognostic markers in soft tissue sarcomas. Reflecting her prior training in molecular biology, Dr. Antonescu’s research has focused on two main directions: KIT oncogenic signaling in the pathogenesis of GIST and gene fusion discovery in the characterization of new pathologic entities. During the past two decades our lab has cloned numerous novel gene fusions that has impacted the classification of soft tissue tumors. Her sarcoma research laboratory also served as an invaluable resource in mentoring young investigators and pathology fellows, with a special interest in sarcoma pathology and molecular biology. Currently, Dr. Antonescu serves as the Director of the Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology and oversees the pathologic evaluation of sarcoma patients treated at our institution. She runs a busy personal consultation practice, where she enjoys teaching talented fellows. Dr. Antonescu is the Co-Leader of a GIST research project as well as the Co-Director of the Administrative Core and Director of the Biospecimen Repository Core for the NIH Soft Tissue Sarcoma SPORE. She is also the co-Director of the recently instituted MSK Sarcoma Center, an integrated multidisciplinary group of basic and clinical researchers. Dr. Antonescu is grateful to all her colleagues at MSK for their relentless support over the years for both her clinical and research endeavors.

Jaclyn Cardarelli-Matte, LICSW
Massachusetts General Hospital

Jackie Cardarelli-Matte has been with the Mass General Cancer Center since the start of her clinical social work career in 2016. In her time in Oncology, Jackie has developed a practice focusing on quality of life and advocacy for patients, families, and their varied needs. She is committed to her patients, families, and team members with a collaborative, strengths-based approach. She works with her patients throughout the treatment trajectory, including adjusting to diagnosis and treatment, survivorship, or end-of-life care and support. Jackie has a special clinical interest in the needs of the AYA population and has been involved in innovative individual and group approaches to supporting this population. She is eager to continue her contributions to the growth of this important program.

Courage Award honorees illustrate, through their personal efforts and actions, sarcoma advocacy. These individuals are patients, survivors, caregivers, and advocates who inspire others by using their platform on behalf of sarcoma patients and survivors to create hope and a better life/or the sarcoma community. Many do not think they have done something special but who have inspired others and are making a difference/or sarcoma patients and their families. The Courage Award honors patients who have demonstrated strength and perseverance in their sarcoma diagnosis.

Emily Oberst
Paralympian and Sarcoma Survivor

Emily Oberst was obsessed with basketball from a young age and had dreams of one day playing in the WNBA.  At the age of 12, her world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma.  Surgery and a year of chemotherapy successfully treated Emily’s sarcoma, but the surgery left her without the ability to run, jump and play basketball.  While Emily continued to attend games on the sidelines as the team’s manager, she missed being able to play with her teammates. At the age of 15, Emily was approached by a Wheelchair Basketball coach who invited her to attend one of their practices.  She was initially hesitant because she didn’t understand that although she could walk, she qualified to play an adaptive sport.  Emily went to that practice thinking she would politely decline the offer, but what she saw reignited her passion for basketball.  Emily continued playing wheelchair basketball through high school, went on to play for the University of Illinois and is now going to her first Paralympian Games as part of the 2024Team USA Wheelchair Basketball Team competing in Paris.  Emily’s journey from diagnosis to becoming a world champion and Paralympian serves as an inspiration and provides hope to others who face their own sarcoma diagnosis.

Kelly Elmlinger
Paralympian and Sarcoma Survivor

As a sophomore in college, Kelly enlisted as an Army medic and served ten years with the 82nd Airborne Division’s Combat Aviation Unit. She served three back-to-back deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. After being assigned to a special mission unit and completing her degree in nursing she moved to Texas and became an avid runner. In 2013 she experienced pain in her lower left leg. Many tests later, she was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma. After several surgeries to save her leg, she made the decision to have it amputated. She did not want to stop being active, so she competed in the 2015 Los Angeles Marathon and the 2016 Boston Marathon in a racing wheelchair. Wanting to fully run again, Kelly had a desire to qualify for the USA Paratriathlon National Championships. She was named the 2018 USA Paratriathlon Developmental Athlete of the Year after winning the 2018 USA Paratriathlon National Championships in just her second triathlon since becoming an amputee. She has won multiple World Championships since and has represented Team USA as a Paralympian in 2020 at the Tokyo Games and most recently in 2024 at the Paris Games. Throughout her sarcoma journey, Kelly’s biggest source of inspiration and joy has been her daughter Jayden. Jayden was three when Kelly was diagnosed. She is proud to show her daughter that adversity doesn’t have to keep you from success. Kelly emulates this for the entire sarcoma community.

Nate Hinze
Paralympian and Sarcoma Survivor

Growing up Nate Hinze was super active, always running around and playing sports.  Nate loved high school athletics and just playing and being on a team. During his junior year of high school, a lump on his leg though be to a pre-existing injury from football turned out to be osteosarcoma. Within a week he went from playing high school basketball to starting chemotherapy three weeks later.  What followed Nate’s diagnosis was nine months of chemotherapy, a series of surgeries to replace most of his lower right leg and the realization that playing stand-up basketball wasn’t going to be an option. 

Nate started playing wheelchair basketball as a first-year student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater by chance after walking into the wheelchair basketball office on campus to see if he could be the manager, take stats or anything to get him out of his dorm room and meet some new people. Little did Hinze know this one interaction out of boredom would lead to playing on national Wheelchair Basketball team and the Paralympics as part of the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball team. He has been part of the Paralympic team in the 2020 and 2024 games, where his team took gold medals at each event.

Nate’s journey from diagnosis to Paralympian shows his true courage and determination and provides hope and encouragement for the sarcoma community while raising much needed awareness about sarcoma.  

Amira Yunis Courage Award honorees illustrate, through their personal efforts and actions, sarcoma advocacy. These individuals are patients, survivors, caregivers, and advocates who inspire others by using their platform on behalf of sarcoma patients and survivors to create hope and a better life/or the sarcoma community. Many do not think they have done something special but who have inspired others and are making a difference/or sarcoma patients and their families. The Amira Yunis Courage Award honors patients who have demonstrated strength and perseverance in their sarcoma diagnosis.

Sean Cincotta
Sarcoma Survivor

Sean Cincotta is the 2024 Amira Yunis Courage Award Honoree. Sean was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his right arm in January 2023. This diagnosis was followed by an eight-month treatment journey that included a 14-hour surgery to remove the tumor, chemotherapy, and radiation. Thankfully surgeons were able to remove the tumor and preserve the nerve function of his arm and hand. Sean concluded his chemotherapy treatments in January 2024. Since his diagnosis, Sean has been active with the SFA Race to Cure Sarcoma (RTCS) Philadelphia. His team Crusin’ with Cinco raised over $40,000 as a team and helped fund a 2024 research grant. He has also taken on a role with the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA) AYA Committee.  This committee makes sure that adolescent and young adult sarcoma survivors have the resources and mentorship to help them with the unique challenges they face as a patient group diagnosed with sarcoma. His enthusiastic support of SFA amidst his personal sarcoma journey is a testament to his strength and tenacity. Sean acknowledges the sacrifices made by those who stood by him—doctors, family, friends, and colleagues—and could not have done it without their unwavering support and encouragement.