Dr. Gerald Krystal Named 2025 Winner of the $300,000 Dr. Rogers Prize for Groundbreaking Cancer Research
BC Cancer researcher recognized for pioneering work in dietary interventions and cancer prevention
VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 6, 2025 /CNW/ - Dr. Gerald Krystal, a distinguished cancer researcher in the Terry Fox Laboratory at BC Cancer, has been named the 2025 winner of the prestigious Dr. Rogers Prize for Advancing Health, Medicine & Healing. The $300,000 award recognizes Dr. Krystal's exceptional contributions to healthcare through his groundbreaking research into the effects of diet on cancer prevention.
Dr. Krystal's revolutionary work has demonstrated that low carbohydrate diets enriched with resistant starch or soluble fiber, soy protein, and fish oil can reduce the incidence of many cancers, including lung and breast cancers.
"Dr. Gerald Krystal exemplifies the vision, leadership, and transformative impact that the Dr. Rogers Prize seeks to honour," said Alena Levitz, Executive Director of the Hecht Foundation, overseeing the Dr. Rogers Prize. "His work shines a spotlight on the power of prevention - uniting science with practical pathways for diet, metabolism, immune function and inflammation, to reshape how we understand and fight cancer. In celebrating his achievements, The Dr. Rogers Prize not only acknowledges his extraordinary contributions, but affirms our commitment to advancing health, medicine, and healing for the benefit of all."
Dr. Krystal's work has helped broaden the understanding beyond purely genetic or molecular pathways of cancer, to include how everyday factors can influence cancer risk and outcomes including having substantial effects on tumour initiation, growth, and metastasis. By tying prevention research with increased public awareness, his work has contributed not only to scientific knowledge but to a paradigm shift in thinking about prevention.
"By honoring Dr. Krystal with the Dr. Rogers Prize, the Hecht Foundation, as with the two faces of Janus, recognizes the simultaneous importance of where we have come from in the context of where we need to get to – the value of knowledge and wisdom from all sources as the basis for continuous advance in health, medicine and healing," said Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, esteemed juror of the Dr. Rogers Prize.
When Dr. Krystal's first publication appeared in and made the cover of the prestigious journal Cancer Research, in 2011, as described in this BC Cancer Foundation post, it prompted numerous investigators to explore whether low carbohydrate diets could indeed slow or prevent tumour growth, leading to many publications confirming his findings.
Over the past 13 years, Dr. Krystal has worked collaboratively with experts across multiple disciplines including: immunology, hematology, hypoxia, ketogenic diets, exercise, clinical treatment of lung cancer, breast cancer, cell biology, pathology, endocrinology, microbiome research, lymphoma research, aging, epidemiology, virology, arthritis research, Chinese medicines, and liposome research. Every collaboration has resulted in publications, demonstrating the broad impact of his interdisciplinary approach.
Over his distinguished career, Dr. Krystal has also conducted early clinical trials in efforts to reduce chronic inflammation markers in heavy smokers. His screening assays can identify smokers at high risk for developing lung cancer, representing a major advancement in personalized cancer prevention. Dr. Krystal and his team at BC Cancer are well known for their investigations into how chronic inflammation (even when not clinically obvious) contributes to cancer risk.
"Receiving the Dr. Rogers Prize is an incredible honour and I owe it all to the wonderful trainees I have been lucky enough to have over the years," said Dr. Gerald Krystal. "I would especially like to thank my current Staff Scientist, Dr. Ingrid Elisia, and Research Assistant, Michelle Yueng, for their pivotal contributions to understanding the effects of different diets on cancer prevention, growth and metastasis."
Dr. Krystal confirms this post on BC Cancer Foundation still rings true today: Can Dietary Changes Significantly Reduce Your Risk of Cancer?
"For nearly two decades, the Dr. Rogers Prize has been a quiet but powerful engine, supporting and propelling innovators and difference makers across Canada with $2M awarded to healthcare leaders since 2007," said Levitz. "Dr. Krystal's research and lifetime career achievements, similar to that of past recipients, embodies Dr. Rogers' vision of patient-centred care - empowering individuals to take charge of their health, with physicians and health care providers working collaboratively toward more integrative approaches to treating patients."
Dr. Krystal will be donating all of his award to the BC Cancer Foundation to support future cancer prevention research. He will be presented with the 2025 Dr. Rogers Prize at a private celebration event in Vancouver on October 25, 2025.
About The Dr. Rogers Prize
The Dr. Rogers Prize for Advancing Health, Medicine and Healing is Canada's largest award recognizing innovation, leadership, and achievement in health care. A biennial award valued at $300,000, the Prize honours the legacy of Vancouver physician Dr. Roger Hayward Rogers, a pioneer in patient-centered and integrative medicine. Since 2007, the Prize has celebrated individuals whose work bridges conventional and more novel integrative approaches, advancing the science and practice of healing. The Dr. Rogers Prize is funded by the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation.
About Dr. Gerald Krystal
Dr. Krystal is a well-respected cancer researcher in the Terry Fox Laboratory at the BC Cancer Research Centre. His early work included being part of a research group that held the title for the longest continuously funded National Cancer Institute of Canada research group for over 25 years. Dr. Krystal's work has made several important contributions to cancer research in Canada including understanding how diet, metabolism, immunity, and inflammation interact with cancer risk, growth, and progression.
Current Roles:
Professor with Tenure, Dept. of Pathology, Experimental Medicine and the Genetics Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. https://pathology.ubc.ca/2022/12/01/gerald-krystal/
2010-present Distinguished Scientist, Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver.
SOURCE Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Foundation
For more information and requests for interviews please contact: Wendy Hartley, 604.817.2758, [email protected]
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