Dr. Howard Scher is a world-renowned medical oncologist and leading authority in genitourinary cancers, particularly advanced prostate cancer. He currently serves as Head of the Biomarker Development Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and holds the D. Wayne Calloway Chair in Urologic Oncology. After earning his MD from New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Scher completed his residency at Bellevue Hospital Center and a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. For over three decades, he has been a prominent investigator at MSKCC, establishing himself as one of the foremost experts in prostate cancer therapeutics while also serving as a Professor of Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Scher's pioneering research has fundamentally transformed the treatment landscape for prostate cancer patients through his work on androgen receptor signaling and novel therapeutic targets. His pivotal contribution to the development of enzalutamide, an androgen receptor inhibitor, earned him the American Association for Cancer Research's 2015 Team Science Award and established a new standard of care for men with advanced prostate cancer. His laboratory has conducted groundbreaking research on PI3K, HSP90, and other molecular pathways, resulting in over 500 scholarly publications that have significantly advanced understanding of treatment resistance mechanisms. Dr. Scher's work with liquid biopsy technologies has provided clinicians with crucial tools to monitor disease progression without invasive procedures, particularly valuable for prostate cancer that often metastasizes to bone.
Beyond his research achievements, Dr. Scher has been instrumental in shaping prostate cancer research through his leadership of the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium, a 13-center collaborative funded by the Department of Defense and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. As Principal Investigator of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Prostate Cancer SPORE, he continues to drive translational research from bench to bedside, accelerating the development of novel therapeutic approaches. His active participation in BLOODPAC's Executive Committee demonstrates his commitment to establishing validation standards for blood-based cancer tests and advancing regulatory pathways for innovative diagnostics. Dr. Scher remains at the forefront of prostate cancer research, continuing to explore biomarker-driven therapeutic strategies that promise to further personalize treatment approaches and improve outcomes for patients with genitourinary malignancies.
