In a few weeks, Howard Chang, M.D., Ph.D., will join Amgen, filling the roles of both senior vice president of research and chief scientific officer.
A little over a month ago, Amgen’s former senior vice president of research, Ray Deshaies, Ph.D., hit the exit after about seven years with the Big Pharma. Now, the California-based company has found a replacement in Chang, while also having him step into the CSO role that Jay Bradner, M.D., previously occupied.
Effective Dec. 16, Chang will report to Bradner, who will stay in his role as the company’s executive vice president of R&D, according to a Nov. 20 release.
Chang is a physician-scientist trained in genome science with expertise in cancer and dermatology. For 10 years, he’s served as the director for the Nationals Institutes of Health Center of Excellence in Genomic Science: Center for Personal Dynamic Regulomes. In addition, he's a professor of cancer genomics at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
In 2018, the Harvard-trained physician received the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology for discovering long noncoding RNAs using new genomic technologies that he invented.
At Amgen, Chang will be responsible for all research priorities within rare disease, oncology, inflammation and cardiometabolic indications, according to the company's release. He’ll also supervise operations across the company's global network of research sites.
"Howard is one of our generation's foremost physician-scientists, with expertise in human genetics and a profound ability to distill complex disease biology into clarified targets," Bradner said in the release. "Leading research at Amgen is a vital role that shapes the disease-altering therapies we pursue for patients. Howard's high-technology approach to science, coupled with his groundbreaking research in gene control, cancer biology and stem cell biology, complements the work we do every day."