Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD
Ensign Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Professor of PharmacologyCards
Additional Titles
Deputy Director, Yale Cancer Center
Chief of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital
Assistant Dean for Translational Research, Yale School of Medicine
Program Director, Master of Health Science - Clinical Investigation Track (MHS-CI)
Appointments
Contact Info
Additional Titles
Deputy Director, Yale Cancer Center
Chief of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital
Assistant Dean for Translational Research, Yale School of Medicine
Program Director, Master of Health Science - Clinical Investigation Track (MHS-CI)
Appointments
Contact Info
Additional Titles
Deputy Director, Yale Cancer Center
Chief of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital
Assistant Dean for Translational Research, Yale School of Medicine
Program Director, Master of Health Science - Clinical Investigation Track (MHS-CI)
Appointments
Contact Info
About
Titles
Ensign Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) and Professor of Pharmacology
Deputy Director, Yale Cancer Center; Chief of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital; Assistant Dean for Translational Research, Yale School of Medicine; Program Director, Master of Health Science - Clinical Investigation Track (MHS-CI)
Biography
Dr. Herbst is nationally recognized for his leadership and expertise in lung cancer treatment and research. He is best known for his work in developmental therapeutics and the personalized therapy of non-small cell lung cancer, in particular the process of linking genetic abnormalities of cancer cells to novel therapies.
Learn more about Dr. Herbst >>
Dr. Herbst’s primary mission is the enhanced integration of clinical, laboratory, and research programs. He has worked over several decades as a pioneer of personalized medicine and immunotherapy to identify biomarkers and bring novel targeted treatments and immunotherapies to patients, serving as principal investigator for numerous clinical trials testing these agents in advanced stage lung cancers. This work led to the approval of several therapies (such as gefitinib, cetuximab, bevacizumab, axitinib), which have revolutionized the field and greatly enhanced patient survival. He and his Yale colleagues were among the first to describe the PD-1/PD-L1 adaptive immune response in early phase trials and to offer trials of PD-L1 inhibitors atezolizumab and pembrolizumab to lung cancer patients. His leadership in targeted therapeutics resulted in being selected for ASCO’s plenary presentation in 2020 and 2023 and publication of results of the third-generation EGFR-inhibitor osimertinib for the treatment of resected EGFR-mutant NSCLC in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In 2015 and again in 2020, his team at Yale was awarded a Lung Cancer SPORE (P50 grant) by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which has identified new immunotherapies and mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to EGFR targeted therapies. His work has also been funded by ASCO, AACR, the United States Department of Defense, and by an AACR/ Stand Up to Cancer Dream Team grant.
His work on "umbrella” trials has galvanized the field of targeted therapy and cancer drug approvals at the FDA. Nationally, he works closely with public-private partnerships to develop large master protocol clinical studies. He was co-leader for the BATTLE-1 clinical trial program, co-leads the subsequent BATTLE-2 clinical trial program, and was the founding principal investigator (PI) of the Lung Master Protocol (Lung-MAP), a position he held for ten years. He testified on this before the House of Representatives 21st Century Cures committee and serves as a prominent figure in this area. He has served over ten years as a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Cancer Policy Forum, for which he organized several meetings focused on policy issues in personalized medicine and tobacco control. He is now serving his second term on the National Academy of Medicine’s Cancer Policy Forum. He is currently the Vice Chair for the Southwestern Oncology Group (SWOG) Lung Committee and chair emeritus and special advisor for the Lung-MAP trial.
After earning a B.S. and M.S. degree from Yale University, Dr. Herbst earned his M.D. at Cornell University Medical College and his Ph.D. in molecular cell biology at The Rockefeller University in New York City, New York. His postgraduate training included an internship and residency in medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. His clinical fellowships in medicine and hematology were completed at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, respectively. Subsequently, Dr. Herbst completed a M.S. degree in clinical translational research at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Prior to his appointment at Yale, Dr. Herbst was the Barnhart Distinguished Professor and Chief of the Section of Thoracic Medical Oncology in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (UT-MDACC) in Houston, Texas. He also served as Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology and Co-Director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program.
Dr. Herbst is a highly respected clinician scientist who has been a champion of translational medicine for decades, recently authoring a high-profile review of the 20-year progress in lung cancer. He has authored or co-authored more than 450 publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, and book chapters. His work has appeared in many prominent journals, such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research, Lancet, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Work published in Nature was awarded the 2015 Herbert Pardes Clinical Research Excellence Award by the Clinical Research Forum. His abstracts have been presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the World Conference on Lung Cancer, the Society of Nuclear Medicine Conference, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.
He is a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and a member of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), where serves as Chair of the AACR Scientific Policy and Government Affairs Committee. He has been a major proponent of efforts to promote tobacco control and regulation (including e-cigarettes), authoring multiple policy statements and leading frequent Capitol Hill briefings. In 2019, he was elected to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) board of directors and the board of directors of the American Association of Cancer Research(AACR). He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and an elected member of the Association of American Physicians.
For his lifetime achievement in scientific contributions to thoracic cancer research, Dr. Herbst was awarded the 2016 Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award by the IASLC at their 17th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Vienna, Austria. A team of Yale Cancer Center investigators led by Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, was awarded the 2018 Team Science Award from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) for its pioneering work in advancing our understanding of Immunotherapy. In 2020, Dr. Herbst was awarded the AACR Distinguished Public Service Award for Exceptional Leadership in Cancer Science Policy. Dr. Herbst is the recipient of the 2022 Giants of Cancer Care® award for Lung Cancer and was honored by Friends of Cancer Research in 2022 as one of their 25 scientific and advocacy leaders who, through their work and partnership, have been instrumental over the course of the last 25 years in making significant advancements for patients. Over the course of his career, Dr. Herbst has worked to bring novel therapies to the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, bringing us closer to curing this disease.
Appointments
Medical Oncology
Section ChiefDualOffice of the Dean, School of Medicine
Assistant DeanDualMedical Oncology
ProfessorPrimaryPharmacology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Thoracic Cancers
- Developmental Therapeutics
- Human and Translational Immunology Program
- Internal Medicine
- K12 Calabresi Immuno-Oncology Training Program (IOTP)
- Medical Oncology
- MHS-CI Program Leadership
- Office of the Dean, School of Medicine
- Pharmacology
- SPORE in Lung Cancer
- Subset Medical Oncology Faculty
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Center for Immuno-Oncology
- Yale CTAP
- Yale Medicine
- Yale Ventures
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
Education & Training
- MMS
- Harvard University, Clinical Translational Research (1997)
- Fellowship
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute (1997)
- Fellowship
- Brigham and Women`s Hospital (1997)
- Residency
- Brigham and Women`s Hospital (1994)
- MD
- Cornell University Medical College (1991)
- PhD
- Rockefeller University, Molecular Biology (1990)
- BS
- Yale University, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry (1984)
- MS
- Yale University, Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (1984)
Research
Overview
Medical Research Interests
Public Health Interests
ORCID
0000-0003-2535-5847
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Scott Gettinger, MD
David Rimm, MD, PhD
Kurt Schalper, MD, PhD
Sarah Goldberg, MD, MPH
Anne Chiang, MD, PhD
Patricia LoRusso, DO
Lung Neoplasms
Precision Medicine
Medical Oncology
Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic
Thoracic Neoplasms
Publications
Featured Publications
Overall Survival with Osimertinib in Resected EGFR-Mutated NSCLC
Tsuboi M, Herbst R, John T, Kato T, Majem M, Grohé C, Wang J, Goldman J, Lu S, Su W, de Marinis F, Shepherd F, Lee K, Le N, Dechaphunkul A, Kowalski D, Poole L, Bolanos A, Rukazenkov Y, Wu Y. Overall Survival with Osimertinib in Resected EGFR-Mutated NSCLC. New England Journal Of Medicine 2023, 389: 137-147. PMID: 37272535, DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2304594.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDisease-free survivalOverall survivalIIIA diseaseStage IBAdjuvant osimertinibPlacebo groupOsimertinib groupNew serious adverse eventsSignificant overall survival benefitStage IILonger disease-free survivalEnd pointData cutoff datePrevious adjuvant chemotherapyDouble-blind trialOverall survival benefitPrimary end pointSecondary end pointsSerious adverse eventsCell lung cancerCoronavirus disease 2019Epidermal growth factor receptorADAURA trialAdjuvant chemotherapyEligible patientsThe end of the beginning: progress and next steps in KRAS-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer
Goldberg S, Herbst R. The end of the beginning: progress and next steps in KRAS-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer. The Lancet 2023, 401: 706-707. PMID: 36774937, DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(23)00288-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricFuture Directions in the Management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring Driver Mutations.
Herbst RS. Future Directions in the Management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Harboring Driver Mutations. Oncology 2022, 36: 562-563. PMID: 36107783, DOI: 10.46883/2022.25920974.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetric
2024
EP.07C.10 Real-World Outcomes of Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy for Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Ermer T, Kim S, Goldberg S, Zolfaghari E, Blasberg J, Boffa D, Herbst R, Politi K, Schalper K, Dacic S, Woodard G. EP.07C.10 Real-World Outcomes of Patients Treated with Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy for Resectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Journal Of Thoracic Oncology 2024, 19: s543-s544. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2024.09.1007.Peer-Reviewed Original Research1309P A genomic scar based signature (HRDsig) and biallelic BRCA alterations identify a homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) phenotype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) potentially actionable to the PARP inhibitor rucaparib: Post-hoc analysis of lung-MAP substudy S1900A
Riess J, Miao J, Wheatley-Price P, Reckamp K, Kozono D, Redman M, Edelman M, Faller B, Villaruz L, Corum L, Gowda A, Srkalovic G, Osarogiagbon R, Baumgart M, Gandara D, Sokol E, Borghaei H, Gray J, Herbst R, Kelly K. 1309P A genomic scar based signature (HRDsig) and biallelic BRCA alterations identify a homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) phenotype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) potentially actionable to the PARP inhibitor rucaparib: Post-hoc analysis of lung-MAP substudy S1900A. Annals Of Oncology 2024, 35: s832-s833. DOI: 10.1016/j.annonc.2024.08.1366.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchChitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) in the pathogenesis of epidermal growth factor receptor mutant non-small cell lung cancer
Kamle S, Ma B, Schor G, Bailey M, Pham B, Cho I, Khan H, Azzoli C, Hofstetter M, Sadanaga T, Herbst R, Politi K, Lee C, Elias J. Chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) in the pathogenesis of epidermal growth factor receptor mutant non-small cell lung cancer. Translational Oncology 2024, 49: 102108. PMID: 39178575, PMCID: PMC11388375, DOI: 10.1016/j.tranon.2024.102108.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsNon-small cell lung cancerEpidermal growth factor receptorTyrosine kinase inhibitorsEpidermal growth factor receptor mutant non-small cell lung cancerMutant non-small cell lung cancerEpidermal growth factor receptor axisCell lung cancerLung cancerTherapeutic resistanceDownstream targets of EGFRResistance to TKI therapyEpithelial cellsStimulated epidermal growth factor receptorWild type epidermal growth factor receptorTargeting of epidermal growth factor receptorActivating EGFR mutationsChitinase 3-like 1Progression free survivalInduce tumor cell deathEpidermal growth factor receptor activationEffects of EGFR activationInhibited pulmonary metastasisTumor cell deathResponse to treatmentGrowth factor receptorLung-MAP Next Generation Sequencing Analysis of Advanced Squamous Cell Lung Cancers (SWOG S1400)
Kozono D, Hua X, Wu M, Tolba K, Waqar S, Dragnev K, Cheng H, Hirsch F, Mack P, Gray J, Kelly K, Borghaei H, Herbst R, Gandara D, Redman M. Lung-MAP Next Generation Sequencing Analysis of Advanced Squamous Cell Lung Cancers (SWOG S1400). Journal Of Thoracic Oncology 2024 PMID: 39111731, DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2024.07.024.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsConceptsNext generation sequencingLung SqCCNext generation sequencing dataAdvanced squamous cell lung cancerGene set analysisSquamous cell lung cancerAssociated with poor survivalFalse discovery rate <Squamous cell cancerCancer-related genesCell lung cancerCox proportional hazards modelsOxidative stress responseNGS datasetsUncharacterized genesLung cancer subtypesNon-overlapping setsCancer Genome AtlasProportional hazards modelGeneration sequencingGenetic variantsUncharacterized roleCell cancerTreatment resistanceGene alterationsQuantitative Measurement of HER2 Expression in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer With a High-Sensitivity Assay
Liu M, Vathiotis I, Robbins C, Chan N, Moutafi M, Burela S, Xirou V, Schalper K, Herbst R, Syrigos K, Rimm D. Quantitative Measurement of HER2 Expression in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer With a High-Sensitivity Assay. Modern Pathology 2024, 37: 100556. PMID: 38964502, PMCID: PMC11416319, DOI: 10.1016/j.modpat.2024.100556.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsNon-small cell lung cancerCases of non-small cell lung cancerNon-small cell lung cancer casesT-DXdCell lung cancerHER2 expressionBreast cancerRare case of non-small cell lung cancerQuantitative immunofluorescenceAntibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab deruxtecanLung cancerHER2 antibody-drug conjugatesNon-small cell lung cancer patientsDetecting HER2 expressionHER2-targeted therapyMetastatic breast cancerHER2 protein expressionBreast cancer casesHER2 protein levelsAntibody-drug conjugatesProportion of casesTrastuzumab deruxtecanNSCLC casesFrequency of casesImmunohistochemistry scorePragmaticism in Cancer Clinical Trials.
Sankar K, Redman M, Dragnev K, Henick B, Iams W, Blanke C, Herbst R, Gray J, Reckamp K. Pragmaticism in Cancer Clinical Trials. American Society Of Clinical Oncology Educational Book 2024, 44: e100040. PMID: 38771997, DOI: 10.1200/edbk_100040.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCancer clinical trialsTraditional explanatory trialsCancer mortality ratesPatient care scenariosGoal of improving patient outcomesPragmatic trial designTrial designRepresentative patient populationPragmatic trialIntervention effectsIntervention efficacyCare scenariosExplanatory trialsTrial generalizabilityPragmatic designPatient outcomesClinical trialsReal-world practiceOncologyEscalating costsCancer clinical trial designPatient populationMortality rateDuration of trialsOncology researchMolecular residual disease (MRD) analysis from the ADAURA trial of adjuvant (adj) osimertinib in patients (pts) with resected EGFR-mutated (EGFRm) stage IB–IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
John T, Grohe C, Goldman J, Kato T, Laktionov K, Bonanno L, Tiseo M, Majem M, Domine M, Ahn M, Perol M, Hartmaier R, Robichaux J, Bhetariya P, Markovets A, Rukazenkov Y, Muldoon C, Herbst R, Tsuboi M, Wu Y. Molecular residual disease (MRD) analysis from the ADAURA trial of adjuvant (adj) osimertinib in patients (pts) with resected EGFR-mutated (EGFRm) stage IB–IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Journal Of Clinical Oncology 2024, 42: 8005-8005. DOI: 10.1200/jco.2024.42.16_suppl.8005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsDisease-free survivalMolecular residual diseaseNon-small cell lung cancerDisease-free survival eventsDisease recurrenceEGFR-mutantOverall survivalStage IB-IIIA non-small cell lung cancerEGFR T790M resistance mutationT790M resistance mutationMedian follow-up timeEGFR-TKI sensitivityResected tumor tissueCell lung cancerTumor-specific variantsMedian lead timeWhole-exome sequencingDetection of ctDNAADAURA studyADAURA trialInvestigator-assessedMolecular recurrenceEGFR-TKIsResidual diseaseEligible pts
Clinical Trials
Current Trials
A Phase III, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Randomised, Multicentre, International Study of Durvalumab Plus Oleclumab and Durvalumab Plus Monalizumab in Patients With Locally Advanced (Stage III), Unresectable Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Who Have Not Progressed Following Definitive, Platinum-Based Concurrent Chemoradiation Therapy
HIC ID2000032970RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date05/29/2026Recruiting ParticipantsRandomized Phase III Study of Combination Osimertinib (AZD9291) and Bevacizumab Versus Osimertinib (AZD9291) Alone as First-Line Treatment for Patients With Metastatic EGFR-Mutant Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
HIC ID2000032879RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/31/2026Recruiting ParticipantsIntegration of Immunotherapy Into Adjuvant Therapy for Resected NSCLC: ALCHEMIST Chemo-IO (ACCIO)
HIC ID2000028827RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date12/15/2024Recruiting ParticipantsPhase IB/II Trial Of Dose-Deescalated 3-Fraction Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy For Centrally Located Lung Cancer
HIC ID2000025868RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date01/31/2030Recruiting ParticipantsDetermining Mechanisms of Sensitivity and Resistance to Anti-Cancer Therapy for Advanced Lung Cancer
HIC ID1603017333RoleSub InvestigatorPrimary Completion Date06/20/2026Recruiting Participants
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
activity National Cancer Institute
CommitteesCommittee MemberDetailsThoracic Malignancy Steering Committee - National Cancer Institute10/01/2012 - Presentactivity International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)
Public ServiceBoard MemberDetailsMember, Board of Directors08/13/2019 - Presentactivity American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Public ServiceBoard of DirectorsDetailsMember, Board of Directors2020 - Presenthonor Giants of Cancer Care Award for Lung Cancer
Other AwardOncLiveDetails05/11/2022United Stateshonor Friends of Cancer Research 25th Anniversary Honoree
National AwardFriends of Cancer ResearchDetails05/03/2022United States
Clinical Care
Overview
Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, is chief of medical oncology and a pioneer of personalized medicine and immunotherapy whose goal is to cure lung cancer.
Dr. Herbst, who is also associate director for translational science at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Cancer Center, says the way to a cure is understanding how lung cancer grows and finding new targets and new immunologic ways to enhance therapy to treat it. He adds that understanding and preventing metastasis and treatment resistance—two factors that often result in cancer fatality—is critical to our ability to increase survivorship rates.
“A favorite part of my job is leading and mentoring the physicians and teams that work together to treat patients with cancer,” he says. “We have built integrated clinical and research programs at multiple care centers around the state to deliver the best care to patients. I really like bringing the group together and building teams.”
Dr. Herbst says he has been interested in cancer from an early age. “As an undergraduate at Yale, I worked in the very same hallway where I work now, on the emerging science of electrobiology that impacts how cells grow and divide, which is the very basis of cancer,” he says. “I also enjoy clinical medicine, where I can help patients and blend science and cancer care.”
He says the best part of his job is witnessing new drugs helping patients improve. “That really just makes my day to see people benefit from the treatments we have developed, some of them here at Yale,” he says.
To reassure patients, Dr. Herbst says he tells patients that they “have come to a place where we are devoted to their care—to the quality of their care and the innovation of their care—and that, here at Yale, they will have the very best treatments and multimodality care to help their disease.”
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Learn More on Yale MedicineLung Cancer
Learn More on Yale MedicineSquamous Cell Carcinoma
Learn More on Yale MedicineSmall Cell Lung Cancer
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News
- November 25, 2024
Accolades, Awards & Honors
- November 22, 2024Source: WICC Radio
Melissa in the Morning: Lung Cancer Rates in CT
- November 20, 2024
The Chemotherapy+ Foundation Honors YCC Deputy Director
- November 14, 2024
Understanding Lung Cancer: A Conference to Raise Awareness and Offer Hope to Those Impacted by Lung Cancer
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