Posted by Catherine Park, MD
Chair, 2014 Annual Meeting Education Committee
The second keynote speaker at this year’s Annual Meeting will be Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS. Dr. McCormick’s address will focus on the promise of biology and targeting in oncology. Dr. McCormick has been on the leading edge of oncologic targeting through basic discovery. For many thousands of our patients, biologic targeting has led to dramatically improved tumor regression, speaking to the critical importance of basic research in cancer biology. Radiation therapy, being one of the most potent agents used in cancer treatment, needs to be paired smartly with biologic targets to realize the vision of dramatically enhanced therapy and outcomes. Dr. McCormick’s breadth of experience in cancer biology and drug discovery will provide both overview and insight for our field and the direction of future developments.
Throughout his career, Dr. McCormick has worked with several bay area biotechnology firms where his research had a major impact on cancer treatment drugs and therapies. In the 80s and 90s, he served as the director of molecular biology and eventually vice president of research at Cetus Corporation. He would go on to join Chiron Corporation as the vice president of research.
From 1992-1996, Dr. McCormick served as chief scientific officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a company he founded that was dedicated to the development of new cancer therapies. Through his leadership at Onyx, he was directly involved in the work that led to the approval of Sorafenib in 2005 and 2007 for the treatment of renal cell cancer and liver cancer, respectively. His research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals also led to the approval of ONYX-015 in 2006 for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer in China. In total, he has authored over 285 scientific publications and holds 20 issued patents.
Dr. McCormick is currently the director of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research in UCSF’s department of microbiology and immunology. His most recent research interests center on the fundamental difference between normal and cancer cells that can allow for the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies. He also holds a leadership role at the Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research and oversees an NCI-supported national effort to develop therapies against Ras-driven cancers.
Join us on Tuesday, September 16, 2014, at 9:15 a.m. in the Esplanade Ballroom, as he addresses our 56th Annual Meeting at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. More information on the 2014 Annual Meeting is available here.
Chair, 2014 Annual Meeting Education Committee
The second keynote speaker at this year’s Annual Meeting will be Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS. Dr. McCormick’s address will focus on the promise of biology and targeting in oncology. Dr. McCormick has been on the leading edge of oncologic targeting through basic discovery. For many thousands of our patients, biologic targeting has led to dramatically improved tumor regression, speaking to the critical importance of basic research in cancer biology. Radiation therapy, being one of the most potent agents used in cancer treatment, needs to be paired smartly with biologic targets to realize the vision of dramatically enhanced therapy and outcomes. Dr. McCormick’s breadth of experience in cancer biology and drug discovery will provide both overview and insight for our field and the direction of future developments.
Throughout his career, Dr. McCormick has worked with several bay area biotechnology firms where his research had a major impact on cancer treatment drugs and therapies. In the 80s and 90s, he served as the director of molecular biology and eventually vice president of research at Cetus Corporation. He would go on to join Chiron Corporation as the vice president of research.
From 1992-1996, Dr. McCormick served as chief scientific officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a company he founded that was dedicated to the development of new cancer therapies. Through his leadership at Onyx, he was directly involved in the work that led to the approval of Sorafenib in 2005 and 2007 for the treatment of renal cell cancer and liver cancer, respectively. His research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals also led to the approval of ONYX-015 in 2006 for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer in China. In total, he has authored over 285 scientific publications and holds 20 issued patents.
Dr. McCormick is currently the director of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research in UCSF’s department of microbiology and immunology. His most recent research interests center on the fundamental difference between normal and cancer cells that can allow for the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies. He also holds a leadership role at the Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research and oversees an NCI-supported national effort to develop therapies against Ras-driven cancers.
Join us on Tuesday, September 16, 2014, at 9:15 a.m. in the Esplanade Ballroom, as he addresses our 56th Annual Meeting at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. More information on the 2014 Annual Meeting is available here.