Michael Shepard

Dr. Shepard was a 2019 recipient of the Lasker Award for medical research and public service, conferred for his role in the discovery and development of the drug Herceptin (trastuzumab). The Lasker Awards are regarded as America’s top biomedical research prize, and approximately 90 past recipients have proceeded to win a Nobel Prize. Herceptin treats breast cancer patients with HER2-positive tumors, marking an especially aggressive form of the disease. Over two million patients have benefited from this discovery. Dr. Shepard began his career in biotechnology at Genentech where he discovered Herceptin. He subsequently founded several successful biotech companies and later served as vice president and chief scientific officer of Halozyme Therapeutics. In 2007, he was awarded the prestigious Warren Alpert Prize from Harvard Medical School and the Warren Alpert Foundation. Dr. Shepard is the author of over 90 peer-reviewed publications and has been an inventor on more than 50 patents. Dr. Shepard received his BS degree from the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. from the University of Indiana.