Director, Legorreta Cancer Center Brown University

Director, Joint Program in Cancer Biology, Brown University and Brown University Health

Associate Dean, Oncologic Sciences, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University

Attending Physician, Hematology/Oncology, Brown University Health Mencoff Family University Professor of Medical Science, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University

American Cancer Society Research Professor

Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP is an American Cancer Society Professor, Director of the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University, Associate Dean for Oncologic Sciences at the Warren Alpert Medical School, and the Mencoff Family University Professor of Medical Science at Brown. A practicing physician-scientist and medical oncologist at Brown University Health, Dr. El-Deiry specializes in colorectal cancer and conducts translational oncology research focusing on cell death, cancer drug resistance, novel therapeutics, and precision oncology.

Dr. El-Deiry is among a select group of scientists worldwide to have discovered a cancer suppressor—the TRAIL receptor DR5—and developed a drug targeting this pathway. He identified ONC201/TIC10 (Dordaviprone), a first-in-class small molecule that activates TRAIL-mediated cancer cell death. He founded Oncoceutics, Inc., the company that licensed the drug, which was later acquired by Chimerix, Inc. in 2021. The drug is currently advancing toward FDA approval in 2025 for the treatment of aggressive brain tumors. Chimerix is submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) in December 2024, based on promising clinical data, including a 28% overall response rate, nearly 60% disease control rate, and a near-tripling of overall survival in H3K27M-mutated diffuse gliomas. This breakthrough represents the first clinically active drug for brain cancer in decades. Additional interim data from the randomized Phase III ACTION study will further inform its approval. ONC201/TIC10 has also shown activity in other cancers, including prostate and neuroendocrine tumors, both as a monotherapy and in combination treatments. Dr. El-Deiry’s lab continues to explore additional therapeutic combinations, including ONC206 (currently in clinical trials for glioblastoma) and ONC212 (preclinical stage).

Dr. El-Deiry has held several distinguished leadership positions. He previously served as Deputy Director for Translational Research and Co-Leader of the Molecular Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, where he also held the William Wikoff Smith Endowed Chair in Cancer Research. From 2010 to 2014, he was Division Chair and Professor of Medicine, Chief of Hematology-Oncology, and Interim Director of the Penn State Cancer Institute. Before that, he was a tenured Professor of Medicine, Genetics, and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania, Co-Leader of the Radiobiology & Imaging Program at Abramson Cancer Center, and an Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Dr. El-Deiry earned his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Miami, completed his internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and pursued a medical oncology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. His scientific contributions include defining the genomic-binding sequence for the tumor suppressor p53 (the "guardian of the genome") and discovering p21(WAF1), the universal cell cycle inhibitor. His seminal discovery of p21(WAF1/CDKN1A) clarified the role of DNA damage in cell cycle regulation and remains a foundational concept in biology, now taught in high school textbooks. His research on the TRAIL receptor DR5 and ONC201/TIC10 has led to clinically meaningful advances in oncology.

Dr. El-Deiry has received numerous honors and accolades, including:

• Michael Brown Award (University of Pennsylvania, 1998)
• Elizabeth and John Cox Award (Georgetown University, 2005)
• Named one of America’s Top Oncologists (2008, 2009) by Consumers’ Research Council of America
• 2009 International Kuwait Prize for Cancer Research
• Induction into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars (2014)
• Inventor of the Year Award at Brown University (2022, 2023, 2024)
• Elected Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (2024)
• Elected Chair of the Worldwide Innovative Network (WIN) Consortium in Personalized Cancer Medicine

A Fellow of the American College of Physicians (2012-), Dr. El-Deiry is also a member of the Interurban Clinical Club (President, 2013-2014), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (since 1999), and the Association of American Physicians (since 2008). He has chaired numerous NIH and NCI study sections, served on the Conquer Cancer Foundation Board (ASCO, 2015-2018), ASCO’s Annual Program Committee (Tumor Biology Track Leader, 2017), and the American Cancer Society Council for Extramural Grants (2015-2018).

With over 500 peer-reviewed publications, six edited books, and an H-index of 132 with more than 108,000 citations, Dr. El-Deiry is one of the most highly cited molecular biologists in the U.S. He has founded four companies and holds 19 issued patents. In 2023, he was ranked #81 among top molecular biology scientists in the U.S. (Research.com) and was named a Top Doctor in Oncology in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Dr. El-Deiry’s enduring contributions to oncology, translational research, and mentorship continue to shape the future of precision medicine and cancer therapeutics.