Luis A. Diaz, Jr., M.d.

Biography

Luis A. Diaz, Jr., M.D. has served as a director on our board of directors since October 2017. Dr. Diaz is the head of the solid tumor oncology division and a faculty member at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center since December 2016. From 2004 to December 2016, he was a faculty member and physician at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Diaz was a member of the renowned Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics, and was Director of the Swim Across America Laboratory. He also founded several entities that focus on genomic analyses of cancers including Inostics, PapGene and Personal Genome Diagnostics, Inc. As a clinical scientist, he has also harnessed the power of cancer mutations as potent antigens and championed the use of checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of patients with tumors with high mutational burden. He and his team conceptualized and executed the landmark proof-of-concept study using PD-1 blockade in patients with MSI-H, which led to the historic first pan-tumor FDA approval for any solid tumors with this genetic lesion in May 2017. Dr. Diaz holds a B.S. in microbiology and an M.D. from the University of Michigan. He completed his internal medicine residency training at the Osler Medical Service and his medical oncology fellowship training at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, both part of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Research Interest

Luis A. Diaz, Jr., M.D. has served as a director on our board of directors since October 2017. Dr. Diaz is the head of the solid tumor oncology division and a faculty member at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center since December 2016. From 2004 to December 2016, he was a faculty member and physician at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Diaz was a member of the renowned Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics, and was Director of the Swim Across America Laboratory. He also founded several entities that focus on genomic analyses of cancers including Inostics, PapGene and Personal Genome Diagnostics, Inc. As a clinical scientist, he has also harnessed the power of cancer mutations as potent antigens and championed the use of checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of patients with tumors with high mutational burden. He and his team conceptualized and executed the landmark proof-of-concept study using PD-1 blockade in patients with MSI-H, which led to the historic first pan-tumor FDA approval for any solid tumors with this genetic lesion in May 2017. Dr. Diaz holds a B.S. in microbiology and an M.D. from the University of Michigan. He completed his internal medicine residency training at the Osler Medical Service and his medical oncology fellowship training at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, both part of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.