Jack Roth

Dr. Jack A. Roth, a leading thoracic surgeon and physician-scientist, has been at the forefront of thoracic oncology for over 40 years. At MD Anderson Cancer Center, he pioneered multidisciplinary treatments for lung and esophageal cancer and led the first trial proving survival benefits of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in stage IIIA lung cancer. A graduate of Cornell and Johns Hopkins, he trained at UCLA before serving as a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Roth spearheaded groundbreaking gene therapy research, conducting the first NIH- and FDA-approved tumor suppressor gene therapy trials. His team developed viral vectors for p53 gene delivery and initiated the first clinical trial using nanoparticles for systemic gene therapy. His work demonstrated that restoring a single tumor suppressor gene could regress human cancers and led to the first trial combining gene therapy with targeted drugs.

An influential mentor and leader, he secured major grants, including the longest-running NCI SPORE Grant in lung cancer, and founded two biotech companies. With over 700 peer-reviewed publications, 10 books, and more than 50 patents, he has earned numerous prestigious awards, including ASTRO's Honorary Member Award, the British Association for Cancer Research's highest honor, and Fellowship in the American Association for the Advancement of Science.