Dr. Wafik El-Deiry’s welcome and Opening Plenary at the 2026 WIN Symposium in Rhode Island.

Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP Chair, WIN Consortium American Cancer Society Professor Mencoff Family University Professor of Medical Science, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University Attending Physician, Hematology-Oncology, Brown University Health, USA Dr. El-Deiry is an American Cancer Society Professor, Mencoff Family University Professor of Medical Science at Brown, Founding Director of the Legorreta Cancer Center (March 2020 - June 2026), inaugural Associate Dean for Oncologic Sciences at Brown (January 2019 - June 2026) and practicing physician-scientist in GI Oncology and Precision Oncology at Brown University Health. El-Deiry’s discoveries have shaped the fields of tumor suppression, cell death signaling, and cancer therapeutics. He elucidated the genomic DNA-binding consensus sequence for the p53 tumor suppressor, published in Nature Genetics in 1992, and went on to discover p21(WAF1) as a p53 target gene and cell cycle inhibitor — the first mammalian CDK inhibitor identified, and the work that opened the path to the CDK inhibitor drugs now in clinical use. That 1993 paper in Cell was the most-cited original article in the journal for over two decades. He discovered TRAIL receptor DR5 as a p53 target and identified ONC201/TIC10 (dordaviprone), a first-in-class small molecule that activates TRAIL-mediated cancer cell death. He founded Oncoceutics, the company that licensed the compound, and in August 2025, the drug received FDA approval for recurrent H3K27M-mutant diffuse glioma — over two decades from bench to bedside. His laboratory continues to develop agents that restore p53 pathway signaling in tumors carrying mutant p53. He is a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors. He has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers, edited eight books, and ranks among the most highly cited cancer researchers worldwide (121,426 citations; H-index 136 in September 2026 according to Google Scholar). Dr. El-Deiry held leadership roles as co-program leader for Radiobiology & Imaging at the Abramson Comprehensive Cancer Center (2004 - 2010), Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Penn State University (March 2010 - September 2014) and Deputy Director for Translational Research at Fox Chase Cancer Center (October 2014 - December 2018) before being recruited to Brown by the end of 2018. In the current phase of his career Dr. El-Deiry is leading the WIN Consortium in Precision Oncology, growing a Center of Excellence in Precision Oncology at Brown and is committed to supporting the biotechnology ecosystem in Rhode Island. In this regard he is advancing biotech startups p53-Therapeutics, SMURF-Therapeutics, Resurrect-Therapeutics and building a venture fund Wampanoag Ventures while earning a Physician MBA at Indiana University. He continues to conduct competitive funded research at Brown and support the careers of trainees and colleagues. Dr. El-Deiry is serving a term as the elected Secretary of the Faculty at Brown University for 2026-2027.