Libby Do Award

From the age of two, whenever Elizabeth was told "no," her response was always the same: “Libby Do.” And she always did.

Most people see a wall and stop. Elizabeth saw a wall and looked for a way through it. When she was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in 2016—at just 47, she didn't let the diagnosis define her finish line. Instead, she chose a different path. She became a relentless advocate, a sharp research reviewer, and a steady voice for a community that needed her strength.

The Spirit of Libby Award

The award honors those who carry that same fire. Whether they are a researcher in a lab, a physician at a bedside, or an advocate in the community, the recipient is someone who refuses to accept "no" as a final answer. We honor those who believe, as Elizabeth did, that more is always possible.‍ ‍

  • Medical Oncologist & Hematologist, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

    Shortly after Elizabeth received her diagnosis in the fall of 2016, her oncologist Dr. Daniel Petro offered her a piece of advice that would shape the next seven years of her life, and ultimately the soul of Libby's Lungs itself: keep making memories.

    Those words were not a concession. They were a prescription, one that understood Elizabeth as a whole person, not just a patient.

    Dr. Petro walked alongside Elizabeth and Sven for nearly seven years, through ALK inhibitors and MET amplification, through brain lesions and fractured vertebrae, through chemotherapy and targeted therapies, through every turn of a journey that tested everyone who loved her. He did not just treat her cancer. He treated her.

    A specialist in thoracic malignancies with deep involvement in Phase I clinical trials, Dr. Petro brings a multidisciplinary approach to oncology that reflects his belief that no single path is ever the only path — a belief Elizabeth shared completely. He is board-certified in hematology, medical oncology, and internal medicine, and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American Society of Hematology.

    Sven has expressed that words cannot fully capture the gratitude he and Elizabeth felt for Dr. Petro for the care he provided, the bond they formed, and the friendship that grew from nearly seven years of fighting alongside one another. The Spirit of Libby Award exists because of people like Dr. Petro, those who see past the diagnosis to the person, and who fight as hard for their patients' lives as their patients fight for themselves.

  • Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh | Member, Cancer Biology Program, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center

    Dr. Stabile has dedicated her career to a question that too few researchers have taken seriously: why does lung cancer disproportionately affect women, including women who have never smoked? Her laboratory at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center investigates the role of hormonal signaling, environmental exposures, and oncogene-driven tumor progression, including the MET alterations that shaped Elizabeth's own cancer journey. A major focus of her work is brain metastasis, one of the most challenging complications of advanced lung cancer, and developing non-invasive tools to detect and target it earlier.

    Dr. Stabile does not wait for answers to come to her. She builds the research infrastructure to find them. Libby's Lungs has been proud to provide funding for her work, and there is no more fitting inaugural recipient of this award than the scientist who embodies its spirit most completely.