Paul S. Mischel (born July 13, 1962) is a physician-scientist whose laboratory has made pioneering discoveries in the pathogenesis of human cancer. He is the Fortinet Founders Professor, and Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Pathology, Stanford Medicine, an Institute Scholar in Sarafan ChEM-H. He is also a Faculty Advisor for Experimental Biology at the Innovative Medicines Accelerator at Stanford University. Mischel’s research published in a series of papers in ''Nature'' and ''Science'', has catalyzed a paradigm shift in precision oncology that promises to transform the diagnosis and treatment of patients suffering from some of the most aggressive forms of cancer.

Career

Mischel was born on July 13, 1962. After losing his father to cancer, he became committed to a career in cancer research. He attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and received his M.D. from

Cornell University Medical College Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...

in 1991, graduating

Alpha Omega Alpha Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine. It has active chapters in 132 Liaison Committee on Medical Education, LCME-accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects ove ...

. Mischel completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology and Neuropathology at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, followed by post-doctoral research training with

Louis Reichardt Louis French Reichardt (born June 4, 1942) is a noted American neuroscientist and mountaineer, the first American to summit both Everest and K2. He was also director of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, the largest non-federal su ...

HHMI The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life ...

. Mischel joined the faculty of

in 1998. In August 2012, he was recruited to the

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Ludwig Cancer Research is an international community of scientists focused on cancer research, with the goal of preventing and controlling cancer. It encompasses the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, an international non-profit organization ...

, San Diego and

UCSD The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing ...

. In 2021, he joined Stanford University School of Medicine, where he currently serves as a Professor and Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Pathology and Institute Scholar of ChEM-H. Mischel leads the team of eDyNAmiC project.

Research

Mischel’s research has demonstrated a central role for ecDNA in cancer. Studies he has led, published in a series of papers in Nature and Science, has provided a mechanistic understanding of the molecular basis of intratumoral genetic heterogeneity, accelerated evolution and treatment resistance driven by ecDNA oncogene amplification. His team’s research has shown that ecDNA occurs in close to 20% of all solid cancers, of women and men, children and adults, that it is associated with poor outcome for patients. This research has revealed clinical implications and underlying molecular mechanisms of ecDNA in cancer development and progression, suggesting the potential for future ecDNA-directed cancer treatments.

Honors

Mischel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and recipient of the Ernst W. Bertner Memorial Award from MD Anderson for Distinguished Contributions to Cancer Research. Mischel is also an elected Fellow and Past-President of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and an elected Fellow of the American Association of Physicians and The American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Personal life

Mischel is married t
Professor Deborah Kado
Chief of Geriatrics Research, co-director of the Stanford Longevity Center, and Director of the Palo Alto VA Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center. They have two daughters

an
Dr. Sarah Mischel
Paul is the son of the cognitive philosopher Theodore Mischel and the nephew of the famed psychologist,

Walter Mischel Walter Mischel (; February 22, 1930 – September 12, 2018) was an Austrian-born American psychologist specializing in personality theory and social psychology. He was the Robert Johnston Niven Professor of Humane Letters in the Department ...

References

News articles and external links

Team eDyNAmiC: Following the science and accelerating our understanding of ecDNA

ttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/nov/06/zapping-rogue-dna-key-treating-aggressive-cancers-study Study raises hopes of treating aggressive cancers by zapping rogue DNAbr>The cartographer of cancerComing full circle with extrachromosomal DNA, cancer and Ptolemy

Cancers cheat during mitosis to pass on their most malignant genes
{DEFAULTSORT:Mischel, Paul 1962 births Living people University of Pennsylvania alumni American cancer researchers Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Weill Cornell Medical College alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty University of California, San Diego faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine