Sarah Cannon recently announced that Melissa Johnson, MD, has been named Program Director of Lung Cancer Research. In her new role, Dr. Johnson will lead the lung cancer clinical trial portfolio across the Sarah Cannon network.
Dr. Johnson has served as Associate Director of Lung Cancer Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute since 2014, supporting the growth of early-phase compounds in thoracic malignancies. The institution conducts community-based clinical trials throughout the United States and United Kingdom.
Melissa Johnson, MD
David Spigel, MD
“Since joining Sarah Cannon, Dr. Johnson’s contributions to research have helped transform the treatment options available to patients facing lung cancer,” said David Spigel, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, Sarah Cannon. “As Program Director of Lung Cancer Research, Dr. Johnson will continue to help advance therapies for our patients today and in the future.”
Further Experience and Education
Dr. Johnson will continue to work in early-phase drug development as well as lead the Solid Tumor Immune Effector Cellular Therapy Program at Sarah Cannon. She also currently serves as Chair of the Cancer Committee at TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. Dr. Johnson served as Scientific Committee Program Chair for the ASCO Annual Meeting in 2020.
Dr. Johnson received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead Scholar, and her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her residency in internal medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and her fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she also served as Chief Fellow for 1 year.
She spent 4 years as a faculty member at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University and Feinberg School of Medicine. She was also a founding member of the Northwestern Medical Developmental Therapeutics Institute.
