Throughout our 25th anniversary year, we’re featuring champions who’ve been nominated by the childhood cancer community for their outstanding contributions toward our mission of improving the lives of children with cancer and survivors.


Malcolm Smith, MD, PhD, is the Associate Branch Chief for Pediatric Oncology at the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). Dr. Smith’s work has furthered scientific understanding of the unique biology of pediatric cancers and the challenges associated with the care and treatment of children with cancer.

Dr. Smith has been a member of CTEP since 1990, where he has focused on developing NCI’s preclinical and clinical research programs for children with cancer. He serves as the key liaison to the Children’s Oncology Group, the Pediatric Early Phase Clinical Trials Network (PEP-CTN), the Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium, and the NCI Pediatric Preclinical in Vivo Testing (PIVOT) Program.

“Malcolm has been responsible for building the national architecture of programs for childhood cancer research at NCI over the past 25 years, and he’s done it with crystal clear thought leadership and analysis,” said Children’s Cancer Cause founder Susan L. Weiner, PhD.

Dr. Smith’s achievements have been recognized by five Public Health Service Commendation Medals and by the NIH Director’s Award. He has authored over 200 original publications and 27 book and monograph chapters on childhood cancer and clinical trials.

A Rosen Award Recipient:

In 2022, Children’s Cancer Cause honored Dr. Smith as the recipient of our Leonard M. Rosen Memorial Research Award, an annual award that pays tribute to late Children’s Cancer Cause chairman and founding board member Leonard Rosen and his many years of service to the cause of pediatric cancer.

As we recognize Dr. Smith a part of our 25th anniversary campaign, we also recognize our other Rosen Award recipients through the years — all outstanding advocates in the childhood cancer community. Visit the Rosen Award page to learn a little about each of them.