Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, is Executive Director of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Chief of Oncology Clinical Services of the UNC Health System. Dr. Ferris has published >400 peer-reviewed publications with > 65,000 citations and an h-index >120. He was lead investigator of several practice-changing, prospective randomized trials, including Checkmate-141 (2016), which led to the FDA approval of PD-1 inhibition for head and neck cancer and he also helped develop neoadjuvant immunotherapy. He also led ECOG 3311 (2021), testing radiation dose-deintensification after transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for HPV+ oropharynx cancer. He previously co-chaired the NCI Steering Committee for Head and Neck Cancer. In 2025, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Disclosures:
- Employment: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:Executive Director, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center:Employee
- Compensation: BMS: Advisory Board, Advisory Board Type, Advisory Board Proprietary, Honoraria, Compensation Payment-End Date: N/A ;Bobcat Bio: Advisory Board, Advisory Board Type, Advisory Board Proprietary, Honoraria, Compensation Payment-End Date: N/A ;Coherus BioSciences Inc: Advisory Board, Advisory Board Type, Advisory Board Proprietary, Honoraria, Compensation Payment-End Date: N/A ;CorriRX Therapeutics: Advisory Board, Advisory Board Type, Advisory Board Proprietary, Honoraria, Compensation Payment-End
- Ownership: Novasenta:Ownership Equity
- Leadership: none