David B. Agus, MD

David B. Agus is a professor of medicine and engineering at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering. He is the founding director and CEO of the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine. A medical oncologist, Dr. Agus leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers dedicated to the development and use of technologies to guide doctors in making health-care decisions tailored to individual needs. An international leader in new technologies and approaches for personalized healthcare, Dr. Agus serves in leadership roles at the World Economic Forum and the Global Health Security Consortium. He is also a CBS News contributor. Dr. Agus’ three books “The End of Illness”, “A Short Guide to a Long Life” and “The Lucky Years: How to Thrive in the Brave New World of Health” are all New York Times and international bestsellers. Dr. Agus graduated cum laude with honors in molecular biology from Princeton University, and received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his medical internship and residency training at Johns Hopkins Hospital and fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

• Ellis Island Medal of Honor: Medalist, 2017
• American College of Physicians: Fellow, 2016
• USC Association of Trojan Leagues: Outstanding Service Award, 2013
• Geoffrey Beene Foundation: Rock Stars of Science™, 2009
• Biotech Humanitarian Award: Selected Judge, 2009
• HealthNetwork Foundation: Excellence Award, 2008
• American Cancer Society: Physician Research Award, 1996-2001
• Sloan-Kettering Institute: Clinical Scholar Award, 1996
• American Cancer Society: Clinical Oncology Fellowship Award, 1994

• An Inflection Point in Cancer Protein Biomarkers: What was and What’s Next Mol Cell Proteomics. 2023 07; 22(7):100569. . View in PubMed
• Successful adult vaccine drives must centre disability inclusion – Authors’ reply Lancet. 2023 07 29; 402(10399):370. . View in PubMed
• COVID-19 and other adult vaccines can drive global disease prevention Lancet. 2023 01 07; 401(10370):8-10. . View in PubMed
• Phase 2 trial of monoamine oxidase inhibitor phenelzine in biochemical recurrent prostate cancer Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2021 03; 24(1):61-68. . View in PubMed
• Cancer Moonshot 20. Lancet Oncol. 2021 02; 22(2):164-165. . View in PubMed
• Paradoxical androgen receptor regulation by small molecule enantiomers Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 03 23; 118(12). . View in PubMed
• High-throughput microscopy reveals the impact of multifactorial environmental perturbations on colorectal cancer cell growth Gigascience. 2021 04 19; 10(4). . View in PubMed
• Deep learned tissue “fingerprints” classify breast cancers by ER/PR/Her2 status from H&E images Sci Rep. 2020 04 29; 10(1):7275. . View in PubMed
• Deep learning-enabled breast cancer hormonal receptor status determination from base-level H&E stains Nat Commun. 2020 11 16; 11(1):5727. . View in PubMed
• Monitoring dynamic cytotoxic chemotherapy response in castration-resistant prostate cancer using plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) BMC Res Notes. 2019 May 15; 12(1):275. . View in PubMed
• Challenges on the road to recovery: Exploring attitudes and experiences of clients in a community-based buprenorphine program in Baltimore City Addict Behav. 2019 06; 93:14-19. . View in PubMed
• Correlating nuclear morphometric patterns with estrogen receptor status in breast cancer pathologic specimens NPJ Breast Cancer. 2018; 4:32. . View in PubMed
• Safety and Efficacy of Docetaxel, Bevacizumab, and Everolimus for Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) Clin Genitourin Cancer. 2017 Jul 14. . View in PubMed
• Design and rationale for the Influenza vaccination After Myocardial Infarction (IAMI) trialA registry-based randomized clinical trial. Am Heart J. 2017 Jul; 189:94-102. . View in PubMed
• Future cancer research priorities in the USA: a Lancet Oncology Commission Lancet Oncol. 2017 11; 18(11):e653-e706. . View in PubMed
• JUN-Mediated Downregulation of EGFR Signaling Is Associated with Resistance to Gefitinib in EGFR-mutant NSCLC Cell Lines Mol Cancer Ther. 2017 08; 16(8):1645-1657. . View in PubMed
• Quantifying differences in cell line population dynamics using CellPD BMC Syst Biol. 2016 Sep 21; 10(1):92. . View in PubMed
• Intracellular kinetics of the androgen receptor shown by multimodal Image Correlation Spectroscopy (mICS) Sci Rep. 2016 Mar 03; 6:22435. . View in PubMed
• A Plasma-Based Protein Marker Panel for Colorectal Cancer Detection Identified by Multiplex Targeted Mass SpectrometryClin Colorectal Cancer. 2016 06; 15(2):186-194. e13. . View in PubMed
• THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU (AND YOUR DATA) NOW Fortune. 2016 Jan 01; 173(1):90-3. . View in PubMed
• Single cell dynamic phenotyping Sci Rep. 2016 10 06; 6:34785. . View in PubMed
• The Long-Term Benefits of Increased Aspirin Use by At-Risk Americans Aged 50 and Older PLoS One. 2016; 11(11):e0166103. . View in PubMed
• A high-content image-based method for quantitatively studying context-dependent cell population dynamics Sci Rep. 2016 07 25; 6:29752. . View in PubMed
• Stochasticity and determinism in cancer creation and progression Converg Sci Phys Oncol. 2015 Dec; 1(2). . View in PubMed
• Aligning incentives to fulfil the promise of personalised medicine Lancet. 2015 May 23; 385(9982):2118-9. . View in PubMed
• Phase 1/2 study of orteronel (TAK-700), an investigational 17,20-lyase inhibitor, with docetaxel-prednisone in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer Invest New Drugs. 2015 Apr; 33(2):397-408. . View in PubMed
• Phase III, randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial comparing orteronel (TAK-700) plus prednisone with placebo plus prednisone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer that has progressed during or after docetaxel-based therapy: ELM-PC 5 J Clin Oncol. 2015 Mar 01; 33(7):723-31. . View in PubMed
• Intolerance of uncertainty, cognitive complaints, and cancer-related distress in prostate cancer survivors Psychooncology. 2015 Feb; 24(2):228-35. . View in PubMed
• The Impact of Microenvironmental Heterogeneity on the Evolution of Drug Resistance in Cancer Cells Cancer Inform. 2015; 14(Suppl 4):19-31. . View in PubMed
• Phase I/II trial of orteronel (TAK-700)–an investigational 17,20-lyase inhibitor–in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer Clin Cancer Res. 2014 Mar 01; 20(5):1335-44. . View in PubMed
• The Value of Diagnostic Testing in Personalized Medicine Forum Health Econ Policy. 2013 Sep 01; 16(2):S87-S99. . View in PubMed
• Body image predicts quality of life in men with prostate cancer Psychooncology. 2013 Apr; 22(4):756-61. . View in PubMed
• A Phase I, open-label, dose-escalation study of continuous once-daily oral treatment with afatinib in patients with advanced solid tumors Invest New Drugs. 2013 Apr; 31(2):409-16. . View in PubMed
• Anterior gradient 2 (AGR2): blood-based biomarker elevated in metastatic prostate cancer associated with the neuroendocrine phenotype Prostate. 2013 Feb 15; 73(3):306-15. . View in PubMed
• A physical sciences network characterization of non-tumorigenic and metastatic cells Sci Rep. 2013; 3:1449. . View in PubMed
• Perspective: Meeting of minds Nature. 2012 Nov 22; 491(7425):S61. . View in PubMed
• Reframe the health debate Fortune. 2012 Oct 29; 166(7):22. . View in PubMed
• A cross-platform toolkit for mass spectrometry and proteomics Nat Biotechnol. 2012 Oct; 30(10):918-20. . View in PubMed
• Quantitative proteomic profiling identifies protein correlates to EGFR kinase inhibition Mol Cancer Ther. 2012 May; 11(5):1071-81. . View in PubMed
• Phase II study of cilengitide (EMD 121974, NSC 707544) in patients with non-metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer, NCI-6735A study by the DOD/PCF prostate cancer clinical trials consortium. Invest New Drugs. 2012 Apr; 30(2):749-57. . View in PubMed
• Safety and pharmacokinetics of high-dose gefitinib in patients with solid tumors: results of a phase I study Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2012 Jan; 69(1):273-80. . View in PubMed
• Evolutionary modeling of combination treatment strategies to overcome resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in non-small cell lung cancer Mol Pharm. 2011 Dec 05; 8(6):2069-79. . View in PubMed
• Impact of protein stability, cellular localization, and abundance on proteomic detection of tumor-derived proteins in plasma PLoS One. 2011; 6(7):e23090. . View in PubMed
• Copy number and targeted mutational analysis reveals novel somatic events in metastatic prostate tumors Genome Res. 2011 Jan; 21(1):47-55. . View in PubMed
• Detection of androgen receptor mutations in circulating tumor cells in castration-resistant prostate cancer Clin Chem. 2010 Sep; 56(9):1492-5. . View in PubMed
• Beta-2-microglobulin expression correlates with high-grade prostate cancer and specific defects in androgen signaling Prostate. 2010 Aug; 70(11):1201-10. . View in PubMed
• Cancer-associated fibroblasts derived from EGFR-TKI-resistant tumors reverse EGFR pathway inhibition by EGFR-TKIs Mol Cancer Res. 2010 Jun; 8(6):809-20. . View in PubMed
• HER kinase axis receptor dimer partner switching occurs in response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibition despite failure to block cellular proliferation Cancer Res. 2010 Mar 01; 70(5):1989-99. . View in PubMed
• Pharmacologic inhibition of Pim kinases alters prostate cancer cell growth and resensitizes chemoresistant cells to taxanes Mol Cancer Ther. 2009 Oct; 8(10):2882-93. . View in PubMed
• Multiparameter computational modeling of tumor invasion Cancer Res. 2009 May 15; 69(10):4493-501. . View in PubMed
• Predictors of affect following treatment decision-making for prostate cancer: conversations, cognitive processing, and coping Psychooncology. 2009 May; 18(5):508-14. . View in PubMed
• ProteoWizard: open source software for rapid proteomics tools development Bioinformatics. 2008 Nov 01; 24(21):2534-6. . View in PubMed
• Precursor-ion mass re-estimation improves peptide identification on hybrid instruments J Proteome Res. 2008 Sep; 7(9):4031-9. . View in PubMed
• Personalized genetics: a responsible approach Am J Hum Genet. 2008 Jul; 83(1):130; author reply 131. . View in PubMed
• The current state of preclinical prostate cancer animal models Prostate. 2008 May 01; 68(6):629-39. . View in PubMed
• A phase II trial of docetaxel and erlotinib as first-line therapy for elderly patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer BMC Cancer. 2007 Jul 27; 7:142. . View in PubMed
• Beta-2-microglobulin is an androgen-regulated secreted protein elevated in serum of patients with advanced prostate cancer Clin Cancer Res. 2007 Apr 01; 13(7):1979-86. . View in PubMed
• Efficacy and safety of single-agent pertuzumab (rhuMAb 2C4), a human epidermal growth factor receptor dimerization inhibitor, in castration-resistant prostate cancer after progression from taxane-based therapy J Clin Oncol. 2007 Feb 20; 25(6):675-81. . View in PubMed
• Phase I/II study of bortezomib plus docetaxel in patients with advanced androgen-independent prostate cancer Clin Cancer Res. 2007 Feb 15; 13(4):1208-15. . View in PubMed
• Clinical proteomics: the promises and challenges of mass spectrometry-based biomarker discovery Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2006 Jul; 4(7):541-9. . View in PubMed
• Raloxifene, an oestrogen-receptor-beta-targeted therapy, inhibits androgen-independent prostate cancer growth: results from preclinical studies and a pilot phase II clinical trial BJU Int. 2006 Apr; 97(4):691-7. . View in PubMed
• Epidermal growth factor receptor dimerization status determines skin toxicity to HER-kinase targeted therapies Br J Cancer. 2006 Jan 16; 94(1):85-92. . View in PubMed
• 2C4, a monoclonal antibody against HER2, disrupts the HER kinase signaling pathway and inhibits ovarian carcinoma cell growth Cancer. 2005 Dec 15; 104(12):2701-8. . View in PubMed
• A perspective on protein profiling of blood BJU Int. 2005 Sep; 96(4):477-82. . View in PubMed
• Epithelial membrane protein-1 is a biomarker of gefitinib resistance Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Aug 16; 102(33):11858-63. . View in PubMed
• Phase I clinical study of pertuzumab, a novel HER dimerization inhibitor, in patients with advanced cancer J Clin Oncol. 2005 Apr 10; 23(11):2534-43. . View in PubMed
• CVS-3983, a selective matriptase inhibitor, suppresses the growth of androgen independent prostate tumor xenografts Prostate. 2004 Nov 01; 61(3):228-35. . View in PubMed
• PPARgamma signaling: one size fits all? Cell Cycle. 2004 Nov; 3(11):1352-4.. View in PubMed
• Inhibition of HER-kinase activation prevents ERK-mediated degradation of PPARgamma Cancer Cell. 2004 Jun; 5(6):565-74. . View in PubMed
• Ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2004 Jun; 2(6):393-5; discussion 396. . View in PubMed
• Eligibility and outcomes reporting guidelines for clinical trials for patients in the state of a rising prostate-specific antigen: recommendations from the Prostate-Specific Antigen Working Group J Clin Oncol. 2004 Feb 01; 22(3):537-56. . View in PubMed
• Targeting the HER-kinase axis in cancer Semin Oncol. 2004 Feb; 31(1 Suppl 3):9-20. . View in PubMed
• Update on HER-kinase-directed therapy in prostate cancer Clin Adv Hematol Oncol. 2004 Jan; 2(1):53-664. . View in PubMed
• Survival analysis of genome-wide gene expression profiles of prostate cancers identifies new prognostic targets of disease relapse Cancer Res. 2003 Jul 15; 63(14):4196-203. . View in PubMed
• TMEFF2 is an androgen-regulated gene exhibiting antiproliferative effects in prostate cancer cells Oncogene. 2002 Jul 18; 21(31):4739-46. . View in PubMed
• Vaccination with CD20 peptides induces a biologically active, specific immune response in mice Blood. 2002 May 15; 99(10):3748-55. . View in PubMed
• 17-Allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin induces the degradation of androgen receptor and HER-2/neu and inhibits the growth of prostate cancer xenografts Clin Cancer Res. 2002 May; 8(5):986-93. . View in PubMed
• Dehydroascorbic acid, a blood-brain barrier transportable form of vitamin C, mediates potent cerebroprotection in experimental stroke Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Sep 25; 98(20):11720-4. . View in PubMed
• HER-2/neu (p185neu) protein expression in the natural or treated history of prostate cancer Clin Cancer Res. 2001 Sep; 7(9):2643-7. . View in PubMed
• Inhibition of transformed cell growth and induction of cellular differentiation by pyroxamide, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase Clin Cancer Res. 2001 Apr; 7(4):962-70. . View in PubMed
• HER-2/neu as a therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, and ovarian cancer Semin Oncol. 2000 Dec; 27(6 Suppl 11):53-63; discussion 92-100. . View in PubMed
• A potential role for activated HER-2 in prostate cancer Semin Oncol. 2000 Dec; 27(6 Suppl 11):76-83; discussion 92-100. . View in PubMed
• Dysregulated expression of androgen-responsive and nonresponsive genes in the androgen-independent prostate cancer xenograft model CWR22-R1 Cancer Res. 2000 Nov 01; 60(21):6134-41. . View in PubMed
• Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, an inhibitor of histone deacetylase, suppresses the growth of prostate cancer cells in vitro and in vivo Cancer Res. 2000 Sep 15; 60(18):5165-70. . View in PubMed
• Ligand responsiveness in human prostate cancer: structural analysis of mutant androgen receptors from LNCaP and CWR22 tumors Cancer Res. 2000 May 01; 60(9):2317-22. . View in PubMed
• Ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide: a highly effective cytoreduction and peripheral-blood progenitor-cell mobilization regimen for transplant-eligible patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma J Clin Oncol. 1999 Dec; 17(12):3776-85. . View in PubMed
• Prostate cancer cell cycle regulators: response to androgen withdrawal and development of androgen independence J Natl Cancer Inst. 1999 Nov 03; 91(21):1869-76. . View in PubMed
• Response of prostate cancer to anti-Her-2/neu antibody in androgen-dependent and -independent human xenograft models Cancer Res. 1999 Oct 01; 59(19):4761-4. . View in PubMed
• Stromal cell oxidation: a mechanism by which tumors obtain vitamin C Cancer Res. 1999 Sep 15; 59(18):4555-8. . View in PubMed
• Positron emission tomography of a human prostate cancer xenograft: association of changes in deoxyglucose accumulation with other measures of outcome following androgen withdrawal Cancer Res. 1998 Jul 15; 58(14):3009-14. . View in PubMed
• Workgroup 2: human xenograft models of prostate cancer Prostate. 1998 Jun 15; 36(1):56-8. . View in PubMed
• Vitamin C crosses the blood-brain barrier in the oxidized form through the glucose transporters J Clin Invest. 1997 Dec 01; 100(11):2842-8. . View in PubMed

• Lenz, Heinz-Josef
• Press, Michael
• Haiman, Christopher
• Quinn, David