Dr. J. Silvio Gutkind stands as a preeminent leader in molecular pharmacology and cancer research, currently serving as Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. He simultaneously holds the position of Associate Director of Basic Science and Co-Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Center at the Moores Cancer Center. Prior to joining UCSD in 2015, Dr. Gutkind spent nearly three decades conducting groundbreaking research at the National Institutes of Health, where he served as chief of multiple research branches. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacy and Biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires in 1985 and completed postdoctoral training at the National Cancer Institute, establishing the foundation for his distinguished career in cancer signaling research.
Dr. Gutkind's pioneering research has fundamentally transformed our understanding of cancer signaling pathways through his seminal work on the oncogenic activity of G proteins and G protein-coupled receptors in tumor development. His laboratory has meticulously dissected how dysregulated signaling circuitries involving GPCRs drive tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and other malignancies. With over 500 publications in premier journals including Cell, Nature, and Science, his discoveries have been widely recognized as foundational to the field of cancer signaling. His work has uncovered critical mechanisms by which genetic mutations in Gαq proteins initiate melanoma and how the mTOR pathway influences oral cancer progression, providing essential insights for therapeutic development.
As a translational scientist, Dr. Gutkind has been instrumental in bridging basic discoveries with clinical applications, recently completing a multi-institutional clinical trial targeting the mTOR pathway in oral cancer. His research program strategically exploits emerging information on dysregulated signaling to identify novel therapeutic options for cancer prevention and treatment. He has emerged as a thought leader in developing multimodal precision immunotherapies that combine molecular-targeted approaches with immune checkpoint blockade to overcome therapy resistance. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019, Dr. Gutkind continues to shape the future of cancer research through his leadership, mentorship of the next generation of scientists, and unwavering commitment to translating molecular discoveries into effective therapeutic strategies for cancer patients worldwide.
