Roy S. Herbst

Roy S. Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., is ensign professor of medicine, professor of pharmacology, chief of medical oncology, director of the Thoracic Oncology Research Program, and associate director for translational research at Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Herbst has worked over several decades as a pioneer of personalized medicine and immunotherapy, serving as principal investigator for numerous clinical trials for advanced stage lung cancers. This work led to the approval of several therapies (such as Gefitinib, Cetuximab, Bevacizumab, Axitinib, Atezolizumab, and Pembrolizumab), which have revolutionized the field and greatly enhanced patient survival. His work on "umbrella” trials has galvanized the field of targeted therapy and cancer drug approvals at the FDA. He works closely with public-private partnerships to develop large clinical studies, such as Lung-MAP. He is a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), where he chairs the Tobacco Task Force, as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Herbst’s work published in Nature was awarded the 2015 Herbert Pardes Clinical Research Excellence Award by the Clinical Research Forum.