Charles J. Sherr

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Herrick Foundation Chair; Member and Chair, Department of Tumor Cell Biology. Contributed to the understanding of the mammalian cell division cycle, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes. Discoveries helped elucidate how mammalian cells respond to extracellular cues in starting and stopping their cell division cycle, and revealed how perturbations in these signaling pathways lead to cancer. His major findings are that the FMS oncogene encodes the receptor for the macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF/CSF-1) and the identification of several mammalian cell cycle regulators whose activities are governed by mitogenic signaling: the three mammalian D-type cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinase-4 (CDK4), several polypeptide CDK inhibitors, and the ARF tumor suppressor. CDK4 inhibitors approved in 2015 by the FDA are now in clinical use for treatment of breast cancers and in clinical trials for many other malignancies.  He has more than 300 publications. Member, National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Medicine.