Victor Velculescu

Victor is internationally known for his discoveries in genomics and cancer research. He and his colleagues performed the first genome-wide sequence analysis in human cancers, identifying key genes and pathways dysregulated in tumorigenesis. He developed methods for global gene-expression analyses and coined the word “transcriptome” to describe the patterns that could now be obtained in cancer and other cells. These analyses identified a variety of genes not previously known to be involved in neoplasia, including PIK3CA as one of the most highly mutated genes in human cancer. These efforts have led to new FDA-approved therapies and diagnostic tests widely used for patients with cancer. More recently, his group has developed noninvasive liquid biopsy approaches for early detection and monitoring of patients with cancer. These discoveries provide new paradigms for our understanding of human cancer that have benefited patients worldwide.