Giulio Draetta, MD, PhD
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has named Giulio Draetta, MD, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer, a new position that champions innovation, develops strong partnerships, and provides focused leadership on the science and clinical translation of research programs.
Dr. Draetta joined MD Anderson in 2011. He has served in several roles, including as Director of the Institute for Applied Cancer Science and Co-Leader of MD Anderson’s Moon Shots Program, a collaborative effort to accelerate the development of scientific discoveries into clinical advances that save patients’ lives. He has also served as Vice President of the Therapeutics Discovery Division, a unique group of clinicians, researchers, and drug development experts working collaboratively to develop small-molecule, biologic, and cell-based therapies. After that, he was named Senior Vice President for Discovery and Platforms and then Chief Academic Officer ad interim.
Dr. Draetta’s faculty appointment is in the Department of Genomic Medicine, where he holds the endowed position of Sewell Family Chair. Prior to joining MD Anderson, he was a member of the faculty at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, where he was Presidential Scholar, Chief Research Business Development Officer, and Deputy Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Previous Roles
He has also held appointments as Executive Director of Oncology at Pharmacia and as Vice President and Worldwide Head of Oncology Drug Discovery at Merck. In addition, he has served as an investigator at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany; and the European Institute of Oncology.
Dr. Draetta spearheaded fundamental research in the biology of the eukaryotic cell–division cycle and of DNA damage–induced checkpoints. His research led to the discovery of the first mammalian cyclin-dependent kinase and demonstrated that cyclin--dependent kinases and cyclins physically interact and regulate multiple cell-cycle transitions in eukaryotes. ■
