Brian J. Druker, M.D.
Born	(1955-04-30)April 30, 1955 (age 69) St. Paul, Minnesota
Nationality	American
Alma mater	University of California, San Diego,Washington University School of Medicine
Known for	Gleevec
Awards	Novartis-Drew Award(2002) Robert Koch Prize(2005) Keio Medical Science Prize(2007) Meyenburg Award(2009) Lasker Clinical Award(2009) Japan Prize(2012) Dickson Prize(2012) Albany Medical Center Prize(2013) Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences(2013-14) Tang Prize(2018) The Sjöberg Prize(2019) Stanford Drug Discovery Program Lifetime Achievement Award(2023)
Scientific career
Fields	Oncology
Institutions	Howard Hughes Medical Institute,Oregon Health & Science University

Brian J. Druker, M.D. (born April 30, 1955)^[1] is aphysician-scientist andJELD-WEN Chair ofLeukemia Research atOregon Health & Science University (OHSU) inPortland, Oregon. He previously served as chief executive officer and director of OHSU'sKnight Cancer Institute,^[2][3][4] as well as Associate Dean forOncology in theOHSU School of Medicine.^[5]

Druker helped developimatinib (Gleevec), the first medication that specifically targets cancer cells, for the treatment ofchronic myeloid leukemia (CML).^[6][7][8] In 2001, Gleevec gainedFDA approval in record time^[9] and landed on the cover ofTime magazine.^[10] Druker’s work launched the era ofprecision cancer medicine, setting the stage for future discoveries in the quest to end cancer.^[11]

He is the recipient of the 2009Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award,^[12] the 2012Japan Prize in Healthcare and Medical Technology,^[13] the 2013Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research,^[14] and the 2019Sjöberg Prize,^[15] among others. He has been called "Oregon's best-known scientist".^[16]

Druker earned both hisB.A. degree inchemistry andM.D. degree from theUniversity of California, San Diego.^[17] He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine atBarnes Hospital,Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis from 1981 to 1984.^[18]

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Druker was afellow in medicaloncology atDana–Farber Cancer Institute atHarvard Medical School from 1984 to 1987. He began working atOregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in 1993.^[19]

Druker's research is focused on translating the knowledge of themolecular pathogenesis of cancer intospecific therapies and investigating the optimal use of these molecularly targeted agents. He performedpreclinical studies that led to the development ofimatinib (Gleevec) forchronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and then spearheaded the highly successful clinical trials of imatinib, which led toFDA approval of the drug in record time.^[6][8][7] This work changed the life expectancy of patients with CML from an average of 3 to 5 years to a 89% five-year survival,^[20][21] and has resulted in a paradigm-shift in cancer treatment from non-specificchemotherapy to highlytargeted therapeutic agents.^[22] Druker has been widely recognized for his work in developingGleevec, but has been publicly critical of the drug's high price for patients.^[23][24]

Druker also helped lead a national clinical trial to find effective treatments foracute myeloid leukemia (AML). TheBeat AML clinical trial, sponsored by theLeukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), is a joint effort by medical centers, drug makers and the Food and Drug Administration.^[25]

In May 2007, he became director of the OHSU Cancer Institute—renamed theKnight Cancer Institute in October 2008 following a $100 million donation fromNike co-founderPhil Knight.^[26]

In 2015, Druker celebrated the completion of the Knight Cancer Challenge, raising $1 billion for research at theKnight Cancer Institute.^[27] TheOregon Legislature and more than 10,000 donors from Oregon and beyond matched a $500 million grant fromPhil and Penny Knight.^[3] The challenge gave the institute the funding to launch theCancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center.^[3]

In March 2024, he transitioned to the role of chief executive officer of theKnight Cancer Institute.^[28] Druker abruptly resigned in December 2024 while "looking for opportunities where (he) can continue to make an impact on patient’s lives and on the world."^[29] He continues to lead his research lab and see patients, but has expressed strong criticism of OHSU, stating that the institution has "lost sight of what is crucial and forgotten (its) mission."^[30][31]

Druker was an investigator ofHoward Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) from 2002 to 2019.^[19] He was elected to theNational Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine) in 2003 and theNational Academy of Sciences in 2007. He is a member of theAmerican Society for Clinical Investigation,Association of American Physicians,American Academy of Arts and Sciences,American Association for the Advancement of Science,American Society of Hematology,American Society for Microbiology,American Society of Clinical Oncology,American Association for Cancer Research,Children’s Oncology Group, andThe American Society for Cell Biology. Druker has received the following awards, among others:^[32]

• Translational Research Award,Burroughs Wellcome Fund (2000)^[33]
• Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Prize for Cancer Research, Charles Rodolphe Brupbacher Stiftung (2001)^[34]
• AACR-Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award (2001)^[35]
• Warren Alpert Foundation Prize,Harvard Medical School (2001)^[36]
• Dameshek Prize, TheAmerican Society of Hematology (2001)^[37]
• Medal of Honor,American Cancer Society (2002)^[38]
• Robert-Koch Prize, Robert Koch Foundation, Cologne, Germany (2005)^[39]
• Golden Plate Award,Academy of Achievement (2007)^[40]
• Keio Medical Science Prize,Keio University Medical Science Fund, Tokyo, Japan (2007)^[41]
• European Inventor of the Year, Industry,European Patent Office (2009)
• The Rowley Prize,International CML Foundation (2009)
• Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation (2009)^[12]
• Meyenburg Award for Cancer Research, Meyenburg Foundation, Heidelberg, Germany (2009)^[1]
• Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award, American Society for Clinical Investigation (2011)^[42]
• Ernest Beutler Lecture and Prize,American Society of Hematology (2011)^[43]
• The Japan Prize in Healthcare and Medical Technology, The Japan Prize Foundation (2012)^[13]
• Dickson Prize in Medicine,University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (2012)^[44]
• UCSF Medal,University of California San Francisco (2013).^[45]
• Giants of Cancer Care, OncLive (2013)^[46]
• A. Alfred Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science (2013)^[47]
• TheAlbany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research (2013)^[14]
• Honorary Doctorate,Erasmus University Rotterdam (2013)^[48]
• Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Awards for Medical Sciences (2014).^[49]
• Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science, The Tang Prize Foundation (2018)^[32]
• Prince Mahidol Award in the Field of Medicine, Prince Mahidol Award Foundation (2019)^[50]
• Sjöberg Prize, TheRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2019)^[15]
• Rell Sunn Award,Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health (2019)^[51]
• August M. Watanabe Prize in Translational Research, Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (2020)^[52]
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Stanford Drug Discovery Program (2023)^[53]
• Lila and Murray Gruber Memorial Cancer Research Award, American Academy of Dermatology Association (2024)^[54]

Druker is married to Alexandra Hardy, a one-time reporter forPeople magazine, and the couple have three children (as of 2009).^[9] An earlier marriage, to Barbara Rodriguez in 1990, ended in divorce in 1999.^[17]

• Brian Druker Seminars: "Imatinib as a Paradigm of Targeted Cancer Therapies"

• 1955 births
• American hematologists
• Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
• American oncologists
• Oregon Health & Science University faculty
• University of California, San Diego alumni
• Living people
• Howard Hughes Medical Investigators
• Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Recipients of the Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
• Physicians from Portland, Oregon
• Members of the National Academy of Medicine

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