Robert Benezra

Robert Benezra is a Research Professor and Deputy Director for Core Technologies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, holding the Laura and Christopher Pucillo Chair in Metastasis Research. He leads the Cancer Biology & Genetics Program within the Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, focusing on molecular mechanisms of cancer development and metastasis.

Education:

• PhD, Columbia University

His research centers on ID proteins (ID1/ID3) as critical regulators of cell differentiation and cancer progression, demonstrating their role in mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition during metastasis and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) pathogenesis. The lab pioneered hsMad2 cloning to elucidate mitotic checkpoint mechanisms in genomic instability, and developed AGX51—a clinical-stage ID protein degrader with dual applications in cancer therapy and NASH-related liver cancer prevention.

Publication analysis reveals foundational contributions to transcriptional regulation (1990-1993) and checkpoint biology (1996), establishing frameworks for targeting ID proteins in oncology. Current work bridges basic mechanisms of metastasis with translational drug development.

Scientific Recognition:

• Laura and Christopher Pucillo Chair in Metastasis Research

Benezra has mentored 10 graduate students including Hyung-song Nam (MD-PhD) and Juan Manuel Schvartzman, with current lab members comprising Research Assistants Yvette Chin and Riddhi Shah, and Research Fellows Sergey Yaklichkin and Bradley Sugarman. His team operates within the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Alan and Sandra Gerry Metastasis and Tumor Ecosystems Center, driving interdisciplinary approaches to tumor ecosystems.