Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) recently announced that Vivek Subbiah, MD, has joined the organization as Chief, Early-Phase Drug Development. In his role, Dr. Subbiah will oversee SCRI’s nine drug development units and lead the expansion of early-phase capabilities and programs across the organization’s growing research network of more than 1,300 physicians at more than 250 locations in 24 states.
Vivek Subbiah, MD
A transformative and experienced leader in cancer clinical trial design and implementation, Dr. Subbiah comes to SCRI from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he was Associate Professor in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (a phase I program). During his near–15-year tenure there, Dr. Subbiah held several leadership roles, including Executive Director, Medical Oncology Research, MD Anderson Cancer Network, as well as Clinical Medical Director, Division of Cancer Medicine, where he oversaw both the outpatient and inpatient clinical care delivery operations for the phase I program.
From Trials to Treatment
Dr. Subbiah has served as the principal investigator in more than 100 phase I/II trials and co-investigator in over 200 clinical trials and is known for his leadership in several first-in-human and practice-changing studies that directly led to approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency, and other agencies around the world. Furthermore, he has an exceptional track record of effectively bringing together multidisciplinary clinical trials teams, early-career physician investigators, and physicians in training, all with the shared commitment to bringing novel therapies to patients with cancer. Having trained in both pediatric hematology and oncology as well as adult medical oncology, Dr. Subbiah is uniquely positioned to bring cutting-edge therapeutics across the age continuum from adolescents and young adults to older adults with cancer.
SCRI has played a pivotal role in cancer drug development, having conducted more than 650 first-in-human clinical trials since its inception and contributed to research that has led to many new cancer therapies approved by the FDA in the past 3 decades. Although Dr. Subbiah will be based in Nashville, he will focus on expanding early-phase drug development programs across SCRI’s entire network.
Dr. Subbiah’s Background
After finishing his medical education in India, Dr. Subbiah completed a combined residency program in internal medicine and pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University, MetroHealth, Cleveland. He received board certifications in both internal medicine and pediatrics and has completed fellowships in both adult and pediatric oncology at MD Anderson.
“It is an exciting time to be in oncology. We are at the cusp of the next generation of personalized medicine that requires rapid and effective patient access to clinical trials,” said Dr. Subbiah. “SCRI’s unparalleled reach across the U.S. and U.K., along with an agile organizational culture, will help us to accelerate progress against cancer. With a national network of remarkable oncology physicians, clinical teams, molecular profiling talent, and technology, patients across the country can access innovative and personalized cancer treatments in their own backyard.”
