“Bridging the ‘Valley of Death’ with Modern Clinical Drug Development”
Patricia LoRusso, D.O., Ph.D. (hc), FAACR
Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Early Phase Clinical Trials Program
Yale University
Associate Center Director of Experimental Therapeutics
Yale Cancer Center
President, American Association for Cancer Research
BIO:
Patricia LoRusso, D.O., Ph.D. (hc), FAACR, associate director of innovative medicine at Yale Medicine, has expertise in testing new treatments on patient volunteers who have advanced stages of cancer. Her passion is bringing research breakthroughs into the clinic to help patients with different types and stages of cancer. As the associate director of experimental therapeutics at Yale Cancer Center, LoRusso is a nationally recognized expert in developing new cancer drugs through clinical trials. LoRusso has pioneered significant advances in medical oncology, drug development, and early-phase clinical trials.
Throughout her career, LoRusso has received numerous honors and awards, including the World Affairs Council of Connecticut Luminary Award (2018); National Organization of Italian-American Women “Three Wise Women” honoree (2017); Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center the one hundred honoree (2014); ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT) Honorary Award (2014); Michigan State University Distinguished Alumni Award (2014); Karmanos Cancer Institute Faculty Award for Clinical Excellence (2013); American College of Osteopathic Internists Researcher of the Year Award (2010); National Cancer Institute Michaele Christian Oncology Development Award (2008); Crain’s Detroit Business Heroes of Healthcare Award (2008); Marygrove College Distinguished Alumni Award (2008); Top Doctors honoree (2007, 2009, 2011-2013, 2018); and the Michigan Society for Medical Research Bennett J. Cohen Educational Leadership Award for Medical Research (2004). LoRusso received an honorary Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2015 and was elected as a fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2022.
LoRusso received her B.S. from Marygrove College and her D.O. from Michigan State University. Prior to her appointment at the Yale School of Medicine, she 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 director of the Eisenberg Center for Translational Therapeutics.
