Scott Kopetz, M.D, Ph.D.

Dr. Kopetz is an Associate Professor in Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kopetz’ research focuses on developing an understanding of the role of protein tyrosine kinases in cancer maintenance and growth.  The emphasis of the research is evaluation of targets and compounds close to application in the clinic, with an emphasis on metastatic colorectal cancer.  This focus utilizes cancer cell lines as well as tissue samples from patients, including correlative samples from ongoing clinical trials of novel therapeutic agents. Currently, his lab studies the tyrosine kinase Src in tissue culture, murine colon cancer models, and patient samples, where they have established a role for Src in acquired chemotherapy resistance. Related work includes evaluation of the role of BRAF mutations in colon cancer biology, with a focus on developing rationale therapeutic combinations based on the unique biology of this subset of colorectal cancer.