Julian Adams

Julian Adams, Ph.D., is president and CEO of Stand Up To Cancer, and among the world’s foremost oncology researchers. His long and distinguished career as a leader in drug discovery and development, both as a scientist and pharmaceutical industry senior executive, well prepared him to assume overall management responsibility for SU2C. In this role, Dr. Adams oversees the organization’s strategic direction, day-to-day operations, and research investments, while strengthening its relationships with its scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), and leading researchers and institutions across the oncology space. Dr. Adams joined Stand Up To Cancer in July 2023 as its first chief science officer responsible for setting strategic priorities that enhance SU2C’s research portfolio. Among his first initiatives is sharpening SU2C’s research focus on cancer early detection, an effort of particular interest to Dr. Adams and of great promise to the field. Until his retirement in October 2022, Dr. Adams served as chief executive officer of Gamida Cell (NASDAQ:GMDA), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company working to develop cell therapies for blood cancers and rare, serious blood diseases. Prior to joining Gamida Cell, Dr. Adams was president of R&D at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he oversaw development of small molecule drugs to treat cancer. He earlier served in senior research leadership roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, LeukoSite, Inc., and ProScript. He is also a former member of SU2C’s Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Adams has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the 2012 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize for his role in the discovery and development of bortezomib; the 2012 C. Chester Stock Award Lectureship from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; and the 2001 Ribbon of Hope Award for Velcade® from the International Myeloma Foundation. He holds more than 40 patents and has authored more than 130 papers and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Adams received his B.S. from McGill University and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. He also received the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, from McGill University in 2012.