Dr. McCormick joined EXUMA Biotech as a Director in February 2020 and currently holds the David A. Wood Chair of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research at UCSF where he serves as a Professor at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, after having previously served as the center’s director.  Prior to joining UCSF, Dr. McCormick pursued cancer-related work with several Bay Area biotechnology firms and held leadership positions with Cetus Corporation and Chiron Corporation.  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 drug discovery efforts that led to the approval of Sorafenib for the treatment of renal cell and liver cancer, and the approval of ONYX-015 in China for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer.  In addition, his group’s work led to the identification of the CDK4 kinase inhibitor, Palbociclib, approved for treating advanced breast cancer.  Having authored over 330 scientific publications and holding over 20 issued patents, Dr. McCormick’s current research focuses on ways of targeting Ras proteins and their regulators, whereby he leads the National Cancer Institute’s Ras Initiative at the Frederick National Laboratories for Cancer Research to develop therapies against Ras-driven cancer.

Dr. McCormick earned his B.Sc. In biochemistry from the University of Birmingham, England and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, England.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and served as president for the American Association for Cancer Research from 2012-2013.