Dr Alex Adjei
Alex Adjei, MD, PhD, joined the faculty of Roswell Park
Cancer Institute (RPCI) in 2006 as Senior Vice President of
Clinical Research and Katherine Anne Gioia Chair of Cancer
Medicine. Dr. Adjei is responsible for expanding the
Department’s phase I and Thoracic Oncology programs and
strives to enhance existing programs and establish new clinical and research
initiatives.
Dr. Adjei is a distinguished national leader in translational research, drug
development and thoracic oncology. He joined RPCI from the Mayo College of
Medicine, Rochester, MN, where he served as Professor of Oncology and led highly
successful thoracic oncology and Phase I clinical research programs.
Dr. Adjei earned his medical degree from the University of Ghana Medical School in
Legon. He obtained a doctorate in pharmacology at the University of Alberta in
Edmonton, Canada. Dr. Adjei completed residency training at Howard University,
Washington, DC, and clinical and research fellowships in oncology at Johns Hopkins
School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of
Internal Medicine.
Dr. Adjei’s research is focused on assessing the toxicity, pharmacology and initial
activity of novel agents for the therapy of solid tumors and developing biomarkers of
drug effects. His laboratory studies focus on elucidating mechanisms of action and
resistance of novel agents that inhibit cell signaling. He also conducts phase II
clinical trials of novel agents in lung cancer.
In recognition of his long track record in oncology drug development, Dr. Adjei was
recognized in 2012 as the first recipient of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
(ASCO) Drug Development Research Professorship. This award has allowed him to
focus a significant portion of his time in mentoring junior faculty, both from the U.S.
and internationally, in the areas of drug development, clinical trial design and
regulatory science.
Dr. Adjei is an active member of numerous professional organizations. As a member
of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), he has served on
numerous committees. He was Chair of the Minorities in Cancer Research Council
and co-Chair of the AACR’s 2005, 2007 and 2012 Annual Meetings. He has served
on ASCO’s annual meeting program committee twice and has been a member of the
Translational Research Task Force, Cancer Research Committee and Grants
Selection Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International
Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).
Dr. Adjei also has served on many committees for the National Cancer Institute
(NCI). He has served as Group Vice Chair of the NCI’s North Central Cancer
Treatment Group (NCCTG), from 2005 to 2007, and as Lung Committee Chair of
that group from 2005 to 2012). He is currently a member of the NCI’s Thoracic
Malignancies Steering Committee and Vice Chair of its Lung Intergroup Correlative
Science Committee. He was a member of the Lung Cancer Progress Review Group
in 2000 and the Lung Cancer Concept Evaluation Panel from 1999-2002. He has
served on several National Institutes of Health (NIH) committees as well, having
chaired a Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Study Section from
2007-2012, and is a member of the NCI Clinical Oncology (CONC) and Initial Review
Group (IRG) Subcommittee A – Cancer Centers study sections. He continues in his
senior leadership role in lung cancer nationally as a legacy Respiratory Program
Chair of the newly constituted cooperative group Alliance for Clinical Trials in
Oncology (ACTION).
Dr. Adjei has authored or co-authored 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and over 200
abstracts, two books and 15 book chapters. He has several editorial positions on
academic journals. He is Associate Editor of the American Journal of Clinical
Oncology and Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Thoracic Oncology.