Daniel D. Von Hoff

Dr. Von Hoff is the physician in chief, distinguished professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute. Previously, he served as chief scientific officer for HonorHealth Clinical Research Institute, medical director of research at US Oncology Research (supported by McKesson Specialty Health) and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Dr. Von Hoff’s major interest is the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and the laboratory. He and his colleagues were involved in the beginning of the development of many FDA-approved agents that are now used routinely, including mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib, vismodegib, nab-paclitaxel and nal-IRI. His clinical trial work has led to the approval of three of the four drugs approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Presently, he and his colleagues are concentrating on the development of molecularly targeted therapies, particularly for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Von Hoff is a founder of ILEX Oncology, which was acquired by Genzyme after two ILEX agents, alemtuzumab and clofarabine, were approved by the FDA for patients with leukemia. He has published upwards of 675 papers, 140 book chapters and 1,170 abstracts.

Dr. Von Hoff is the past president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member and past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He is founder and editor emeritus of Investigational New Drugs – The Journal of New Anticancer Agents, past editor-in-chief of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics and a co-founder of the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Trial Cancer Research Workshop.

After graduating cum laude from Carroll University, Dr. Von Hoff earned his M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. He then moved to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where he rose to professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology. In 1989 he became founding director of the Institute for Drug Development at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio. In 1999 he became director of the Cancer Center and professor of medicine at the University of Arizona.