Alan Ashworth

Dr. Alan Ashworth is senior vice president and the president of cancer services at UCSF Health as well as president of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is responsible for all cancer-related activities across UCSF, including research and clinical operations. Ashworth co-leads the Center for BRCA Research, which provides personalized care and planning for families with BRCA and other mutations, and performs research into treatments and preventive strategies. He co-leads SF CAN, the first comprehensive cancer strategic plan for a major U.S. city, and the University of California (UC) Cancer Consortium, a research and advocacy alliance of the National Cancer Institute–designated comprehensive cancer centers across UC.

Ashworth is a translational biologist and laboratory researcher who focuses on understanding cancer genetics to improve treatment and care of patients. In 1995, he was part of the team that identified the BRCA2 breast cancer susceptibility gene. Ten years later, he discovered how to kill BRCA1- and BRCA2-related tumor cells by treating them with PARP inhibitors. Three PARP inhibitor drugs are now approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of ovarian and breast cancer. Before joining UCSF, Ashworth served as chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and as director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre in London.