LoRusso named the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine

Patricia LoRusso, an internationally recognized expert in drug development and early-phase clinical investigation of novel cancer therapies, was recently appointed the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine (medical oncology). The appointment, which is effective immediately, is for a term of 10 years, renewable by the dean of the Yale School of Medicine.  

LoRusso is also the Associate Center Director of Developmental Therapeutics at Yale Cancer Center and leader of the Early Phase Clinical Research Team at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital.

She received her undergraduate degree from Marygrove College and her doctor of osteopathic medicine, as well as her honorary Ph.D., from Michigan State University.

Before coming to Yale, LoRusso served in numerous leadership roles at Wayne State University’s Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, including as director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program and of the Eisenberg Center for Translational Therapeutics.

Her leadership has helped shape the field of translational and clinical cancer research and has greatly contributed to crucial therapeutic breakthroughs for patients with cancer.

In April 2023, she was elected the 2024-25 president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the first and largest cancer organization that spans basic, translational, and clinical science, and includes more than 54,000 members in 130 countries and territories. In that role, she works with the officers and directors of the AACR board and the AACR membership at large to further the AACR’s mission to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy and advocacy, and funding for cancer research.

She also currently serves as chair of the AACR Exploratory IND/Biomarker-Driven Clinical Trials Task Force; chair of the AACR-Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research Award Committee; co-chair of the AACR Precision Combination Therapy Task Force; and member of the Global Affairs Committee. She has been a member of the AACR Project GENIE External Advisory Board since its inception in 2015.

LoRusso currently serves as a co-chair of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) Investigational Drug Steering Committee and is the co-chair of the Board of Scientific Council for the Intramural Program at the National Cancer Institute. She also served on the education and scientific committees of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, numerous peer-reviewed study sections, and NCI committees.

During her career she has earned numerous awards, including the 1999 Heroes of Breast Cancer Award; the 2004 Bennett J. Cohen Educational Leadership Award for Medical Research; the 2008 NCI Michaele C. Christian Oncology Development Lectureship and Award; the 2014 Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT) Honorary Award; and the 2014 Michigan State University Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2014, she was also honored as one of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center’s “One Hundred” individuals and organizations recognized for their dedication in making a difference in the fight against cancer.

In 2015, LoRusso received an honorary Ph.D. from her alma mater – Michigan State University.  That same year, she was honored by the National Organization of Italian American Women as one of Connecticut’s Wise Women. In 2016 she was awarded the Luminary Award by the World Affairs Council of Connecticut and, in 2022, she received the prestigious Burchenal Award for Clinical Cancer Research from the AACR.

LoRusso is a former editor of the journal Investigational New Drugs, served on the editorial board for Clinical Cancer Research, and has been a reviewer for several other journals. She has authored nearly 350 articles on cancer research in peer-reviewed journals, and written multiple book chapters.