APOS Awards

The Jimmie Holland Award

Dr. Holland fully believed in psychosocial oncology care for all and she lived a life to make it so. Where she realized insufficiency, she built bridges of resolution. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons she has taught us is to identify the need and fill it whole-heartedly with a multi -faceted approach. We will continue to find many needs as we push the field of psychosocial oncology forward.

For nearly half a century, Dr. Holland worked tirelessly and brilliantly to establish and expand a global movement in psychosocial oncology. Her countless accomplishments included: serving as the inaugural chief of the psychiatry service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the first academic leadership position of its kind; being the founder of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) in 1986 and the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) in 1984; and editing both the authoritative textbook, Psycho-Oncology, and the leading journal for our field, Psycho-Oncology. Most importantly, Dr. Holland leaves behind an unprecedented legacy of training and mentoring hundreds of psychosocial oncology professionals who will perpetuate her passion for scientific rigor and compassionate clinical care of people touched by cancer.

For the APOS community, our society would simply not exist without her. We still miss her terribly and we remain deeply committed to honoring her legacy. We continuously seek ways to incorporate her vision and guidance into our strategic thoughts and actions. We strive to provide our members with opportunities to continue her legacy, to give to her priorities and to forge ahead with placing psychosocial oncology at the forefront of cancer care.

Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award

Elected to the institute of Medicine in 1990, McCorkle is the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards. Some of her many honors include the Book of the Year Award for Cancer Nursing from the American Journal of Nursing, a Distinguished Merit Award from the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care, and a Distinguished Research Award from the Oncology Nursing Society. She was named the Nurse Scientist of the Year by the Council of Nurse Researchers of the American Nurses Association, one of the most coveted awards in the field of nursing. A prolific writer, her work appears in many professional journals in the U.S. and abroad.

Her passion of pouring into the next generation is evident both in her words and through her work. Truly, there is no way to measure the vast impact that Dr. McCorkle has on the field of psychosocial oncology and the lives of those working within it.

The Matthew J. Loscalzo Outstanding Education & Training Award

Matthew J. Loscalzo, LCSW, Professor Emeritus, City of Hope National Medical Center, is recognized internationally as a pioneer in the clinical, educational, and research domains of psychosocial aspects of cancer. His unique and innovative contributions to the education, training and mentorship of psychosocial oncology professionals have transformed, and continue to transform, the culture of cancer care nationally and internationally.

With over 40 years of experience in caring for cancer patients and their families, Professor Loscalzo has held leadership positions at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, the Rebecca and John Moores Cancer Center, and the City of Hope National Medical Center. He is highly recognized and sought after internationally for his strategic mentorship of leaders across disciplines.

Over the last 10 years, Professor Loscalzo and his colleagues have been awarded five NIH/NCI 5-Year Training Grants totaling over $5 million dollars to train health care professionals across the country and globally in supportive care skills; to build and sustain integrated supportive care programs at their home institutions/community practice sites; to implement biopsychosocial screening programs; and to promote the highest standards of leadership and professional development. To date, over thousands of healthcare providers including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, palliative care physicians, oncologists, and business administrators have been trained from 39 states and 5 countries. These training grants have impacted the quality of care for cancer patients and their loved ones on a global scale.

Professor Loscalzo’s efforts in building integrated, interdisciplinary supportive care programs have been groundbreaking. Professor Loscalzo was recruited by City of Hope to build the Sheri & Les Biller Patient and Family Resource Center and to integrate City of Hope’s then siloed supportive care professionals into one fully integrated interdisciplinary team – the Department of Supportive Care Medicine. This was the first of its kind in the nation. Under his leadership, the Department has grown from 25 members in 2007 to 150 members today, all working together as a fully integrated, multidisciplinary team.

Embedded in Professor Loscalzo’s unwavering commitment to educate and train psychosocial oncology professionals is his passion to mentor and bring out the best in his colleagues. At City of Hope, Professor Loscalzo has been instrumental in developing the nation’s first Staff Leadership Model, centered on expecting each team member to be a leader in their own area; maximizing team engagement; creating trusting relationships; and activating the best of each team member by practicing high performance team skills.

Professor Loscalzo has received numerous awards including the Noemi Fisman Award for Lifetime Clinical Excellence, International Psycho-Oncology Society; the Jimmie Holland Lifetime Leadership Award, American Psychosocial Oncology Society; the Harold Benjamin Innovation Award, Cancer Support Community; and the Arthur M. Sutherland Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Psycho-Oncology, International Psycho-Oncology Society; and an Honorary Doctorate from the Dokkyo University School of Medicine. He served as President of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society and the Association of Oncology Social Workers. Additionally, Professor Loscalzo serves on multiple editorial boards and is a reviewer for a number of professional journals. He has over 75 publications, including 6 books.

In addition to his laudatory achievements, Professor Loscalzo brings intangible but incalculable benefits to all those he collaborates with – wisdom, camaraderie, integrity. He is encouraging, supportive, and inclusive, and takes great joy in the successes of others. Anyone who has worked with Professor Loscalzo knows he has your back.