Alan Ashworth, PhD, FRS

Alan Ashworth is president of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior vice president of clinical services at UCSF Health.

Ashworth is a translational biologist and laboratory researcher who focuses on understanding cancer genetics to improve patient care. He was a key member of the team that discovered the BRCA2 gene (linked to an increased risk of breast, ovarian and other cancers) in 1995. Ten years later, his lab described a way to exploit genetic weaknesses in cancer cells with mutated BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, leading to a new treatment approach using a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors. The Food and Drug Administration has now approved four PARP inhibitors for treating ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancer based on this observation, which was named one of the 21st century’s top 20 discoveries in cancer by the weekly international journal Nature. He continues to apply genetic principles to developing new cancer treatments.

Ashworth has received numerous awards and prizes recognizing his innovative work and its impact on patient care. He is an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for Cancer Research and Royal Society. His honors include the European Society for Medical Oncology Lifetime Achievement Award, David T. Workman Memorial Award of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, Meyenburg Prize for cancer research, Genetics Society Medal, Susan G. Komen Brinker Award and inaugural Basser Global Prize.