Susan Desmond-Hellmann is UCSF’s Chancellor-Designate. A distinguished leader in cancer research, she served as President of Product Development at Genentech from 2004 to April 2009. Board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann completed her clinical training at UCSF.

Dr. Desmond-Hellmann led the development organization that brought to market the biggest personalized medicine success story to date (Herceptin) and was the first to apply the personalized medicine concept in the fight against cancer.  This work has advanced a new model of cancer treatment, and has also demonstrated what’s good for patients can be good for business.

Dr. Desmond-Hellmann has brought some of the most promising and innovative oncology drugs to market: Rituxan- the first drug that used monoclonal antibodies, which works by attacking specific types of cancer cells; Herceptin – which opened the doorway to personalized medicine by targeting the HER2 gene, which defines a specific subtype of breast cancer;  and Avastin, the first angiogenesis inhibitor to stop tumors by preventing the formation of new blood vessels.