Razelle Kurzrock

Sr. Deputy Center Director, Clinical Science; Director, Center for Personalized Cancer Therapy; CTO, Vice Chief, Division of Hematology and Oncology, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center (CA, USA)

Dr Razelle Kurzrock joined UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center in November 2012 as Senior Deputy Center Director for Clinical Science and Murray Professor of Meicine. Her role is broad, including growing and innovating the clinical trials program, and directing the Clinical Trials Office as well as the newly established Center for Personalized Therapy. She also serves as Vice Chief of the Division of Hematology Oncology for the UC San Diego School of Medicine, and is scheduled to assume the Chief position in July 2014. As a physician–scientist, Dr Kurzrock brings extraordinary expertise and experience in clinical research, business operations, regulatory operations, financial and budget planning, and administrative oversight, in addition to her world-recognized work in translational science.

Dr Kurzrock is best known for successfully creating the largest Phase I clinical trials department in the world while at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She was the Chair of this department designated Investigational Cancer Therapeutics from its inception until August 2012 when she moved to UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. In FY12 alone, this department enrolled approximately 1,200 patients on 128 therapeutic trials. Dr Kurzrock’s unique approach emphasized using cutting-edge molecular profiling technologies to match patients with novel targeted therapies reflecting a personalized strategy to optimize cancer treatment.

Dr Kurzrock has served as the Principal Investigator (PI) on more than 90 clinical trials, and has overseen approximately 300 clinical trials, mainly using novel targeted molecules, several of which have gone on to FDA approval. She has been the Principal Investigator of the National Cancer Institute U01 Phase I Studies of Targeted Anti-Cancer Agents. She has also been the PI and co-PI of multiple other awards including the University of Texas Clinical and Translational Science Award (co-PI; 35 million dollars).

Dr Kurzrock also created and directed two innovative education programs: the MS/PhD program in Patient-Based Biological Research (U. of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences) as well as the Phase I Clinical Trials Fellowship. She has been awarded numerous grants and contracts totaling more than $10 million in FY12 alone, and has published nearly 500 peer-reviewed articles in a variety of elite medical journals. In addition, she is Chair of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Early Therapeutics Committee and on their Board of Governors. More recently, she also joined the Board of Directors for the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).