Roche recently announced that William Pao, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Head of the Hematology-Oncology Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, will join Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) as Global Head of the Oncology Disease and Translational Area (DTA), effective May 1, 2014. He will be responsible for leading Roche’s discovery, translational medicine, and early development of innovative oncology medicines. He will be based in Basel, Switzerland and report to John Reed, MD, PhD, Global Head of Roche pRED.
“William is recognized as one of the world’s leading molecular oncologists, with world class expertise in targeted cancer therapeutics, translational medicine, molecular diagnostics, and personalized healthcare strategies using cancer genomics,” said Dr. Reed. “His broad expertise provides Roche with a leader who will ensure our growth and who will position us for continued success as we strive to transform science into medicine.”
In addition to his professorial duties at Vanderbilt, Dr. Pao directed the Division of Hematology and Oncology as well as the Personalized Cancer Medicine unit. He also played leadership roles across a number of other departments, including Cancer Biology and Pathology/Microbiology/Immunology. Dr. Pao and his research team have contributed to over 160 publications about cancer biology, cancer genomics, and cancer treatment.
Career Highlights
Dr. Pao obtained his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MD and PhD in biology degrees from Yale. He did his residency training in Internal Medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical School, Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and postdoctoral fellowship under Nobel Laureate Harold E. Varmus, MD, currently Director of the National Cancer Institute.
Recipient of many awards and honors, Dr. Pao is well-respected in the international cancer community, serving as an advisor to the NCI, ASCO, American Association for Cancer Research, and other professional societies, while also serving on the editorial boards of medical research journals including Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, and Journal of Clinical Oncology. ■
