Julian Adams is the president and chief executive officer of Stand Up To Cancer, and among the world’s foremost oncology researchers. He is a former member of SU2C’s Scientific Advisory Committee.
Until his retirement in October 2022, Julian served as chief executive officer of Gamida Cell, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company working to develop cell therapies for blood cancers and rare, serious blood diseases. Prior to joining Gamida Cell, Julian was president of R&D at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw development of small molecule drugs to treat cancer. He previously served in senior research leadership roles at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, LeukoSite, Inc., and ProScript.
Julian received his B.S. and the degree of Doctor of Science from McGill University and his Ph.D. from MIT in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. He holds more than 40 patents and has authored more than 130 papers and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals. Some of the numerous awards and recognitions that he has received include 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.