Rafael Rosell

MD, PhD

Research interests

Translational medical oncology with particular emphasis on the field of non-small-cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations, personalized cancer treatments

About Me/Brief Introduction

Oncology, Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (Badalona, Barcelona, Spain), Chief Scientific Officer, Chairman and Research Foundation (Barcelona). He is Founder and Director of International Relations and Projects, Spanish Lung Cancer Group (SLCG) and a member of the Foundation Council and Steering Committee of the European Thoracic Oncology Platform (ETOP).

Dr. Rosell’s contributions to translational medical oncology, with particular emphasis on the field of non-small-cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations, have earned him international recognition: in 2013 he was recognized by The Lancet as the highest authority in lung cancer in Europe; he received the Raymond Bourgine Award from the International Congress on Anti-Cancer Treatment (ICACT) for contributions to cancer research in 2012; in 2011 he was honored by the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) with the Hamilton Fairley Award for lifetime achievements in science and clinical/laboratory research, and in 2008 the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation presented him with the “Asclepios” Award to pioneers in research. Dr Rosell has also been named Professor Honoris Causa by the University of Cordoba in Argentina, Eminent Clinical Scholar in Residence by the Winship Cancer Institute, Emory Univeristy School of Medicine, Georgia, USA, and awarded the Silver Caravel by the city of Bari, Italy in recognition of his work in lung cancer.

The innovative work of Dr. Rosell’s multidisciplinary team has long focused on the design and selection of personalized cancer treatments based on genetic analysis and characterization of each patient’s tumor in order to optimize outcomes to treatment. Investigations center on characterization of new genes involved in the development of cancer and resistance to targeted therapies. Among others, the group has performed groundbreaking analyses of EGFR, KRAS and ALK as well as RNA expression analysis of multiple genes such as BRCA1, AEG1 and RAP80, demonstrating significant improvements in response to targeted treatments. In the field of lung cancer in particular they have achieved special recognition for their investigations in neoadjuvant chemotherapy, demonstrating a survival benefit in locally advanced lung cancer, as well as in metastatic patients.

Dr. Rosell has authored over 600 articles published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals, and he has given more than 800 presentations at medical and scientific conferences around the world. He is Editor-in-Chief of Translational Lung Cancer Research, Associate Editor for Clinical Lung Cancer and is on the Editorial Board of several professional journals, including Annals of Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research and Future Oncology. He is past president of the Asociación Espanola de Investigación sobre el Cancer (ASEICA) and past editor of Revista de Oncología, the official publication of five Spanish oncology societies.

Dr. Rosell is a member of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and was Scientific Chair of their 2005 World Conference on Lung Cancer. He is an active member of the Protocol Review Committee of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and serves on the Scientific Program Sub-Committee (non-small-cell lung cancer, metastatic) for the annual congress of the European Medical Oncology Society (ESMO). He was Scientific Chair of the 1st & 2nd European Lung Cancer Congress jointly sponsored by IASLC and ESMO. He also participated in the ASCO Scientific Programs Committee from 2002 through 2004.