The Judith Ann Lippard Memorial  Lecture

Every fall, the Koch Institute community comes together to honor the memory of Judith Ann Lippard through an invited keynote lecture by a prominent researcher working at the interface of laboratory research and clinical care. The Judith Ann Lippard Lecture brings together the most innovative minds in cancer research from a variety of disciplines—biology, chemistry, engineering, clinical medicine—and features individuals whose research has the possibility to change the face of women's cancers. The Lippard Lecture also unites two extraordinary cancer centers—MIT’s Koch Institute and the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. In addition to the formal lecture at MIT, the honoree delivers Grand Rounds at MGH, and spends time with trainees, researchers, and physician-scientists at both institutions, thus inspiring the best and brightest young minds to advance cancer therapies. 

History

The Judith Ann Lippard Memorial Lecture was established in 2014 in memory of Judy Lippard, the wife of Stephen J. Lippard, the Arthur Amos Noyes Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at MIT. Judy died of endometrial cancer on September 9, 2013. Steve, Josh, and Alex Lippard, together with countless friends, students, colleagues, and family members created the lecture to honor Judy’s memory and celebrate her remarkable love of life. 

The creation of the Judith Ann Lippard Lecture was inspired by a similar lecture, created in 1974 in memory of Judy’s and Steve’s eldest son, Andrew, who died from a neurological disorder at age 7. Over time, the Andrew Mark Lippard Lecture at Columbia University has become one of the preeminent neurology lectures in the world. 

The 2025 Lippard Lecture

Rebecca Stone has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Judith Ann Lippard Memorial Lectureship. She will present her lecture, The Science Fiction of Ovarian Cancer: What We Got Wrong--and Why It Matters, to the MIT and Koch Institute communities in the Luria Auditorium (76-156) on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at 12:00-1:30 p.m.

Dr. Stone is associate professor and director of gynecologic oncology for Johns Hopkins. She holds a joint appointment in the Armstrong Institute as the lead for its surgical pathways/enhanced recovery after surgery program - an innovative, multidisciplinary program that standardizes perioperative care to improve quality and cost for thousands of patients annually. Dr. Stone also serves as co-director of the Fertility Preservation Center, pioneering novel surgical interventions to help people fulfill their goals of parenthood in the face of cancer. Accordingly, her research portfolio spans clinical, quality improvement, and basic science investigation.  She has been recognized for her dedication to patient care and teaching over the years, including being named Physician of the Year at Johns Hopkins in 2023 and being inducted into the School of Medicine Distinguished Teaching Society in 2022. Besides continuing to care for many patients and their families - this is her first love - she is devoted to ensuring that ovarian cancer prevention becomes a standard of care that all know about and can choose. Dr. Stone champions this mission in the U.S. with support from the Break Through Cancer and Gray Foundations and helps lead an international taskforce to decrease the global burden of ovarian cancer through prevention.

Supporting the Lippard Lectures

To join the Lippard family in celebrating Judy's life and legacy, please contact Karen Sveda, Managing Director of Development, at ksveda@mit.edu or (617) 324-7399, or give online.