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 2026 Lippard Lecture

Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Judith Ann Lippard Memorial Lectureship. He will present his lecture, The role of nicotinamide N-methyltransferase in cancer, to the MIT and Koch Institute communities in the Luria Auditorium (76-156) on Thursday, November 5, 2026.

Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, is an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of gynecologic malignancies, specifically ovarian, cervical and endometrial cancers. He runs a translational research laboratory at the University of Chicago, investigating the role of metabolism in ovarian cancer metastasis and developing and testing new treatments for ovarian cancer. 

The Lengyel lab studies the first critical steps of ovarian cancer metastasis by paying close attention to the host microenvironment. As co-directors of the Ovarian Cancer (OvCa) Research Laboratory at the University of Chicago, Lengyel and Hilary Kenny were the first to culture metastatic ovarian cancer cells in a three-dimensional environment. The Lengyel lab has also established a prospective OvCa tissue bank and, together with two gynecologic pathologists, assembled 13 tissue arrays including normal tissue, borderline tumor and primary tumor, & corresponding metastasis. 

In the clinic, Dr. Lengyel focuses on the treatment of ovarian cancer, including advanced surgical techniques designed to improve patient outcomes. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Association of Physicians. 

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.