David Parkinson, MD profile page

Dr. David Parkinson holds the position of principal, drug discovery at the Ellison Medical Institute. He has more than three decades of experience in oncology research, drug development, and biotechnology leadership. Before joining EMI, Dr. Parkinson was president and CEO of ESSA Pharma Inc., a role he held from 2016 until the company’s sale in 2025. Previously, he was a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, and president and CEO of Nodality, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on characterizing signaling pathways in cancer at the single-cell level. Earlier in his career, Dr. Parkinson was SVP, oncology research and development at Biogen Idec, where he oversaw oncology discovery research and pipeline development. He previously held leadership positions in oncology development at Amgen and Novartis, overseeing the clinical development of cancer therapies including Gleevec, Zometa, Femara, and Vectibix. From 1990 to 1997, Dr. Parkinson worked at the National Cancer Institute. He has also held academic positions at Tufts University and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a past chairman of the FDA Biologics Advisory Committee, a former member of the FDA Science Board, and a recipient of the FDA’s Cody Medal. He is a past president of the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer and has served on the National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine and the NIH Foundation Biomarkers Consortium. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and was recognized with the 2026 AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement for Service to Cancer Science and Medicine. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, chairs its Translational Research Committee, and is a member of AACR’s Project GENIE Oversight Committee and Investment Committee. He also sits on the Board of Angiocrine Biosciences and acts as a scientific advisor to several biopharma companies.