Christine M. Lovly, MD, PhD, FASCO
Christine M. Lovly, MD, PhD, FASCO, an expert on lung cancer with almost 2 decades of experience in clinical care, translational research, and academic leadership, will spearhead the new national thoracic oncology program at City of Hope in Duarte, California. In her new role, effective January 1, 2026, Dr. Lovly will serve as Division Chief of Thoracic Medical Oncology and Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research at City of Hope National Medical Center. In addition, she will hold the Dr. Norman and Melinda Payson Professorship in Medical Oncology.
Research in Biomarkers, Drug Development, and Residual Disease
Dr. Lovly joins City of Hope from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was a tenured faculty member with a joint appointment at the affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In her pioneering research, which has helped to shape the modern landscape of lung cancer care, Dr. Lovly integrated data science to focus on biomarkers, drug development, and residual disease, helping to create predictive algorithms to reveal potent drug interactions, improve efficacy, and lessen side effects. As an authority on the molecular dynamics of targeted therapy response and resistance, Dr. Lovly’s work has led to a greater understanding of lung cancer subtypes characterized by EGFR and ALK alterations.
Strategic Development and Next Steps
In her new position, Dr. Lovly will oversee the strategic development of City of Hope’s thoracic oncology program, including faculty recruitment and mentoring, expanding clinical research and multidisciplinary care, and fostering key partnerships to further lung cancer innovation and improved patient outcomes.
“Dr. Lovly is a visionary clinician-scientist whose leadership and groundbreaking research will accelerate our mission to make hope a reality for people with lung cancer,” said Marcel R. van den Brink, MD, PhD, President of City of Hope Los Angeles and City of Hope National Medical Center.
More About Dr. Lovly
Dr. Lovly is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and serves on the editorial boards of Cancer Discovery, Clinical Cancer Research, and JCO Precision Oncology. In addition, she is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research, as well as serving on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines panel for non–small cell lung cancer. Her recent honors include the 2025 William J. Darby Award for translational research and the LUNGevity Foundation’s Face of Hope Award.
“I believe the future of lung cancer care lies in precision medicine and team-based collaboration, and City of Hope is the ideal place to bring that vision to life,” Dr. Lovly said. “I look forward to working alongside world-class clinicians and researchers to build a program that truly serves patients and their families.”
