Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program
The Charles Sawyers Lab
Research

Dr. Sawyers is an HHMI Investigator searching for molecularly targeted approaches to treat cancer. He has identified cell signaling components critical to the growth of cancer cells in chronic myeloid leukemia, prostate and other cancers, resulting in the development of multiple FDA-approved inhibitors in clinical use today.

Featured News


Publications Highlights
The neuroendocrine transition in prostate cancer is dynamic and dependent on ASCL1. Romero R, Chu T, González-Robles TJ, Smith P, Xie Y, Kaur H, Yoder S, Zhao H, Mao C, Kang W, Pulina MV, Lawrence KE, Gopalan A, Zaidi S, Yoo K, Choi J, Fan N, Gerstner O, Karthaus WR, DeStanchina E, Ruggles KV, Westcott PMK, Chaligné R, Pe’er D, Sawyers CL. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Apr 11:2024.04.09.588557. doi: 10.1101/2024.04.09.588557. PMID: 38645223 Free PMC article. Preprint.
Lineage plasticity in prostate cancer depends on JAK/STAT inflammatory signaling. Chan JM, Zaidi S, Love JR, Zhao JL, Setty M, Wadosky KM, Gopalan A, Choo ZN, Persad S, Choi J, LaClair J, Lawrence KE, Chaudhary O, Xu T, Masilionis I, Linkov I, Wang S, Lee C, Barlas A, Morris MJ, Mazutis L, Chaligne R, Chen Y, Goodrich DW, Karthaus WR, Pe’er D, Sawyers CL. Science. 2022 Sep 9;377(6611):1180-1191. doi: 10.1126/science.abn0478. Epub 2022 Aug 18. PMID: 35981096 Free PMC article.
Tumor Microenvironment-Derived NRG1 Promotes Antiandrogen Resistance in Prostate Cancer. Zhang Z, Karthaus WR, Lee YS, Gao VR, Wu C, Russo JW, Liu M, Mota JM, Abida W, Linton E, Lee E, Barnes SD, Chen HA, Mao N, Wongvipat J, Choi D, Chen X, Zhao H, Manova-Todorova K, de Stanchina E, Taplin ME, Balk SP, Rathkopf DE, Gopalan A, Carver BS, Mu P, Jiang X, Watson PA, Sawyers CL. Cancer Cell. 2020 Aug 10;38(2):279-296.e9. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2020.06.005. Epub 2020 Jul 16. PMID: 32679108 Free PMC article.
Regenerative potential of prostate luminal cells revealed by single-cell analysis. Karthaus WR, Hofree M, Choi D, Linton EL, Turkekul M, Bejnood A, Carver B, Gopalan A, Abida W, Laudone V, Biton M, Chaudhary O, Xu T, Masilionis I, Manova K, Mazutis L, Pe’er D, Regev A, Sawyers CL. Science. 2020 May 1;368(6490):497-505. doi: 10.1126/science.aay0267. PMID: 32355025 Free PMC article.
FOXA1 mutations alter pioneering activity, differentiation and prostate cancer phenotypes. Adams EJ, Karthaus WR, Hoover E, Liu D, Gruet A, Zhang Z, Cho H, DiLoreto R, Chhangawala S, Liu Y, Watson PA, Davicioni E, Sboner A, Barbieri CE, Bose R, Leslie CS, Sawyers CL. Nature. 2019 Jul;571(7765):408-412. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1318-9. Epub 2019 Jun 26. PMID: 31243370 Free PMC article.
People

Charles L. Sawyers, MD
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Chair in Human Oncology and Pathogenesis; Chair, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program Chair Charles Sawyers develops molecularly targeted cancer therapy.
- MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
- [email protected]
- Email Address
- 646-888-2138
- Office Phone
Members






Associate Member

Associate Attending

Research Associate
Fellow

Research Fellow - HHMI
Research Scholar

Research Associate
Research Scholar
Research Technician
Research Technician
Research Technician
Research Technician

Assistant to Chair

MD-PhD Candidate

Laboratory Manager

Senior Research Scientist

Research Associate

Research Associate

Fellow

- University of Wisconsin, Madison

- University of California, Los Angeles


- Peking Union Medical College

- Carol Davila University of Medicine, Bucharest, Romania
- Harvard University

- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

- Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, PhD
- Peking University, Beijing, BS

- The University of British Columbia

- UCLA


- BS, Zhongshan University


- University of Michigan







- Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands



- New York University






- Cornell University

- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine




- Vanderbilt University

- Rutgers University, University of Medicine and Dentistry New Jersey
- 646-888-2594
- Office Fax
- 646-888-2163
- Lab Phone

- Cornell University

- MD, Weill Cornell Medical College
- PhD, The Rockefeller University
- Cornell University
- Viterbo University, LaCrosse, WI
- 646-888-2163
- Lab Phone
- 646-888-2595
- Lab Fax
Lab Alumni

Assistant Lab Member

Senior Manager, Clinical Science, Loxo Oncology at Lilly, San Francisco, CA

Research Fellow

Graduate Student

Medical Oncology Fellow

Senior Research Scientist

Senior Research Scientist

Research Fellow
Senior Research Scientist
Research Technician

Clinical Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA
Research Technician

MD/PhD Student

Research Lab Manager

Research Fellow

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Assistant to the Chairman

Research Fellow

Research Technician

NE WGS Graduate Student

Senior Animal Husbandry Technician

Assistant to Chairman
Fellow

Fellow

Senior Research Technician

Research Technician
Research Technician

Research Assistant

Research Technician

Senior Research Technician

Research Fellow

Research Technician

Research Technician

Senior Research Technician
NE WGS Graduate Student

NE WGS Student
Research Associate
Research Technician

Associate Member

Senior Research Technician

Research Technician

Assistant Attending

Research Fellow
Graduate Research Assistant

Senior Research Scientist

MSKCC Bridge Program Scholar

Fellow


Research Fellow

Research Technician

Assistant Professor, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX


Lab Head

Research Fellow
Research Technician


Lab Affiliations
- Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program
- Department of Medicine
- Center for Experimental Therapeutics
- Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center
- The Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center
- Brain Tumor Center
- Center for Molecular Imaging & Bioengineering
- Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Achievements
- NCI Alfred G. Knudson Award in Cancer Genetics (2020)
- STAT Biomedical Innovation Award (2019)
- AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship and Award (2019)
- The Scheele Award, Swedish Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (2017)
- American Cancer Society Medal of Honor (2017)
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- BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award (2015)
- Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2013)
- Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences (2013)
- Science of Oncology Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology (2013)
- Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award, American Society of Clinical Investigation (2011)
- Member, National Academy of Sciences (2010)
- Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award (2009)
- Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, Lasker Foundation (2009)
- Dorothy Landon-AACR Prize for Translational Cancer Research, American Association for Cancer Research (2009)
- Member, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (2008)
- David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology (2005)
Open Positions
To learn more about available postdoctoral opportunities, please visit our Career Center
To learn more about compensation and benefits for postdoctoral researchers at MSK, please visit Resources for Postdocs
Get in Touch
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Lab Head Email
-
Office Phone
Disclosures
Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.
MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.
Charles L. Sawyers discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
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Arsenal IO Canada Parent, Inc.
Equity; Professional Services and Activities -
BeiGene, Ltd.
Equity; Professional Services and Activities -
Blueprint Medicines
Equity; Professional Services and Activities -
Column Group
Equity; Professional Services and Activities -
Diaprost AB
Intellectual Property Rights -
Foghorn Therapeutics
Equity; Professional Services and Activities
-
Housey Pharmaceutical
Equity; Professional Services and Activities -
KSQ Therapeutics
Equity; Professional Services and Activities -
Nextech Venture, LTD
Equity; Professional Services and Activities -
Novartis
Equity; Fiduciary Role / Position -
Oric Pharmaceuticals
Equity; Intellectual Property Rights; Professional Services and Activities -
PMV Pharma
Equity; Professional Services and Activities
The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.
This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.
Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].