Parsons Named Director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai

Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD

Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD

Cancer biologist Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, was recently named director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS).

Parsons is the Ward-Coleman Chair in Cancer Research and professor of oncological sciences. He was appointed deputy director of the Tisch Cancer Institute in 2016 and since then has been co-leader of the Cancer Mechanisms Program, which studies cancer signaling, transcription regulation, and biology. Before joining the ISMMS faculty in 2013, Parsons served on the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons faculty for 18 years.

Parsons is also an Icahn Scholar, which is an honor given to ISMMS faculty who are considered to be among the foremost experts in their field and whose work is transforming the face of biomedical science.

One of Parsons’ most important discoveries is the identification of PTEN, a tumor suppressor gene that is often mutated in cancer, which provides critical therapeutic targets in breast, brain, prostate, and endometrial cancer.

In his new role as director of the Tisch Cancer Institute, Parsons will retain his role as chair of the Department of Oncological Sciences and will continue his research program.