Episode 07: William Sellers

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Dr. Bill Sellers is a physician scientist and a leading cancer researcher who has held major roles across academia and industry, including Core Member of the Broad Institute and Professor at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. Bill helped pioneer cancer genomics, including the discovery of EGFR mutations in lung cancer and the creation of the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE). Bill was a former VP and Global Head of Oncology at Novartis.

In this episode,

• Bill Sellers shares his path from his upbringing in Massachusetts through Georgetown, UMassMed, UCSF, and into oncology at Dana-Farber.

• He discusses foundational work on tumor suppressors and co-pioneering cancer genomics, including EGFR mutations and the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE).

• He reflects on leading oncology at Novartis, large-scale functional genomics (e.g., PRMT5), and co-developing the CD19 CAR-T.

• After he goes back to academia (joining Broad), he starts focusing on synthetic lethality and pathway overactivation as therapeutic strategies, including his new startup, Delphia Therapeutics.

• He also talks about mentoring style, his lab culture (Insights training), and personal interests like cycling, travel, and cooking.

Executive Producer: Yossef Baidi

Co-Producer: Fang Xie

Co-hosts: Yossef Baidi and Fang Xie