Vilcek Foundation

Joan Massagué

Director, The Vilcek Foundation

Dr. Joan Massagué, Chairman of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, has long been interested in how growth factors, signaling pathways, and gene expression programs control normal cell behavior and cancer cell metastasis. Dr. Massagué received his BS in Pharmacy and his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona. He moved to the United States in 1979 in order to pursue postdoctoral studies at Brown University. In the 1980s, as faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Dr. Massagué took up the study of a group of natural substances, termed “transforming growth factor-betas” (TGFßs), and began to document their many effects on cells and tissues. Among his pioneering discoveries in this field is the identification of TGFß receptors and elucidation of their structure and functions. His work showed that activation of the TGFß receptors leads to the inhibition of cell division, which is mediated by novel inhibitors of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) co-discovered by Dr. Massagué. These processes are now known to play a crucial role in embryonic development and their disruption leads to congenital disorders and cancer. More recently, Dr. Massagué’s work has focused on metastasis, the devastating capability of cancer cells to migrate from the primary tumor and generate new tumors elsewhere in the body. He has identified several genes and functions that are responsible for mediating tumor metastasis. His work has brought into focus specific functions and specific genes responsible for the capacity of breast cancer cells to metastasize into the bones and lungs. These studies are opening new avenues for the investigation and treatment of metastatic cancers. For his work, Dr. Massagué has been awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize, Clowes Memorial Award, the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine, the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science, and the Passano Prize.

In addition to serving as Program Chairman at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Joan Massagué is Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Professor of the Weill-Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, and Adjunct Director of the Barcelona Institute for Research in Biomedicine. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the Spanish Royal Academies of Medicine and Pharmacy, and the European Molecular Biology Organization.