William Pao (born 1967) is an oncologist and Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer of Pfizer.[1] He was previously the head of Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) at Roche and a professor of medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is best known for his work in molecular oncology and cancer genomics. [2]

William Pao
Born1967
Alma materHarvard University, Yale University
Scientific career
FieldsOncology
Institutions
Doctoral advisorAdrian Hayday
Other academic advisorsHarold E. Varmus

Education

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William Pao studied at Harvard University and earned his MD and PhD degrees in biology from Yale University. He then did his residency training at Weill Cornell Medical School and postdoctoral fellowship with Harold E. Varmus at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.[2] During that time, he did pivotal research on the tyrosine kinase of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene which identified new molecular mechanisms of sensitivity of lung cancers to inhibitors.[3]

Career and research

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Pao started his career as a member of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He joined Vanderbilt University as a professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology eventually becoming head of the division and the personalized cancer medicine unit. He joined Roche as the global head of oncology disease and translational area in 2014. In 2018, he took over pRED replacing John Reed.[4] In 2022, he joined Pfizer as Chief Development Officer.

Awards and honors

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Pao is induced into the American Society for Clinical Investigations and the Association of American Physicians.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "BREAKING: Pfizer raids Roche executive committee for new drug development chief — and Schwan plucks his replacement from the board". Endpoints News. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b "William Pao, MD, PhD, Joins Roche to Lead Oncology Research - The ASCO Post". ascopost.com. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  3. ^ Pao, W; Miller, V; Zakowski, M; Doherty, J; Politi, K; Sarkaria, I; Singh, B; Heelan, R; Rusch, V; Fulton, L; Mardis, E; Kupfer, D; Wilson, R; Kris, M; Varmus, H (7 September 2004). "EGF receptor gene mutations are common in lung cancers from "never smokers" and are associated with sensitivity of tumors to gefitinib and erlotinib". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101 (36): 13306–11. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10113306P. doi:10.1073/pnas.0405220101. PMC 516528. PMID 15329413.
  4. ^ "William Pao to replace Roche's departing head of pRED". www.thepharmaletter.com.
  5. ^ Inc, Biotechnology News Magazine, a division of PTM Healthcare Marketing (1 February 2022). "Pfizer Announces New Chief Development Officer - William Pao, M.D., Ph.D." Biotechnology News Magazine. Retrieved 1 February 2022. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)