Frank Mccormick, PhD, FRS

Professor
Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Research Description: 

Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, is a Professor in the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining the UCSF faculty, Dr. McCormick pursued cancer-related work with several Bay Area biotechnology firms and held positions with Cetus Corporation (Director of Molecular Biology, 1981-1990; Vice President of Research, 1990-1991) and Chiron Corporation, where he was Vice President of Research from 1991 to 1992. In 1992 he founded Onyx Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing new cancer therapies, and served as its Chief Scientific Officer until 1996. At Onyx Pharmaceuticals, he initiated and led drug discovery efforts that led to the approval of Sorafenib in 2005 for treatment of renal cell cancer, and for liver cancer in 2007, and the approval of ONYX-015 in 2006 in China for treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer. Sorafenib is being tested in multiple indications worldwide. In addition, Dr. McCormick’s group led to the identification of a CDK4 kinase inhibitor. Dr. McCormick's current research interests center on the fundamental differences between normal and cancer cells that can allow the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies.

Dr. McCormick holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research at UCSF. Dr. McCormick is the author of over 285 scientific publications and holds 20 issued patents. He also served as President, 2012-2013 for the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). More recently, he has taken a leadership role at the Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research, overseeing an NCI supported national effort to develop therapies against Ras-driven cancers. These cancers include most pancreatic cancers, and many colorectal and lung cancers, and are amongst the most difficult cancers to treat.

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
None
Research Summary: 
New approaches to targeting Ras
Publications: 

Structural dynamics of RAF1-HSP90-CDC37 and HSP90 complexes reveal asymmetric client interactions and key structural elements.

Communications biology

Finci LI, Chakrabarti M, Gulten G, Finney J, Grose C, Fox T, Yang R, Nissley DV, McCormick F, Esposito D, Balius TE, Simanshu DK

Comparative analysis of KRAS4a and KRAS4b splice variants reveals distinctive structural and functional properties.

Science advances

Whitley MJ, Tran TH, Rigby M, Yi M, Dharmaiah S, Waybright TJ, Ramakrishnan N, Perkins S, Taylor T, Messing S, Esposito D, Nissley DV, McCormick F, Stephen AG, Turbyville T, Cornilescu G, Simanshu DK

Revealing the mechanism of action of a first-in-class covalent inhibitor of KRASG12C (ON) and other functional properties of oncogenic KRAS by 31P NMR.

The Journal of biological chemistry

Sharma AK, Pei J, Yang Y, Dyba M, Smith B, Rabara D, Larsen E, Lightstone FC, Esposito D, Stephen AG, Wang B, Beltran PJ, Wallace E, Nissley DV, McCormick F, Maciag AE

Functional interactions between neurofibromatosis tumor suppressors underlie Schwann cell tumor de-differentiation and treatment resistance.

Nature communications

Vasudevan HN, Payne E, Delley CL, John Liu S, Mirchia K, Sale MJ, Lastella S, Nunez MS, Lucas CG, Eaton CD, Casey-Clyde T, Magill ST, Chen WC, Braunstein SE, Perry A, Jacques L, Reddy AT, Pekmezci M, Abate AR, McCormick F, Raleigh DR

Long-term ecological research in freshwaters enabled by regional biodiversity collections, stable isotope analysis, and environmental informatics.

Bioscience

Turner TF, Bart HL, McCormick F, Besser AC, Bowes RE, Capps KA, DeArmon ES, Dillman CB, Driscoll KP, Dugger A, Hamilton GL, Harris PM, Hendrickson DA, Hoffman J, Knouft JH, Lepak RF, López-Fernández H, Montaña CG, Newsome SD, Pease AA, Smith WL, Taylor CA, Welicky RL