AACR Names Matthew Vander Heiden, MD, PhD, FAACR, as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal Cancer Discovery
PHILADELPHIA – The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) today announced the appointment of Matthew Vander Heiden, MD, PhD, Fellow of the AACR Academy (FAACR), as editor-in-chief of Cancer Discovery, one of the 10 highly esteemed journals published by AACR. Vander Heiden will serve as editor-in-chief alongside Luis A. Diaz, Jr., MD, FAACR, who has served with distinction as editor-in-chief of the journal since 2019.
Cancer Discovery publishes high-impact original research articles describing major advances in basic, translational, and clinical cancer research. As the premier cancer information resource, the journal also publishes review articles, perspectives and commentaries, news stories, and summaries of important articles from other journals to keep readers informed about the latest findings in the cancer field. Topics span the spectrum of cancer science and medicine, from the laboratory to the clinic to epidemiologic research and population science.
“AACR is delighted to welcome Dr. Vander Heiden as editor-in-chief of Cancer Discovery,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of AACR. “An innovative researcher and cancer center director, he will bring valuable experience, expertise, and perspective to the journal. We are very grateful for his leadership during this era of remarkable and rapid scientific advances. With Dr. Vander Heiden and Dr. Diaz’s expert guidance, Cancer Discovery will continue to catalyze progress against cancer through the dissemination of highly impactful research.”
Before Vander Heiden was appointed, Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, FAACR, served as founding editor-in-chief of Cancer Discovery from 2011-2026, first working with his fellow founding editor-in-chief José Baselga, MD, PhD, FAACR, and most recently alongside Diaz.
“I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Cantley for his 15 years of dedicated service to Cancer Discovery,” said Foti. “His vision and countless contributions to the journal as founding editor-in-chief quickly established Cancer Discovery as one of the most important cancer research journals in the world.”
Vander Heiden is director of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a professor of biology and the Lester Wolfe (1919) Professor of Molecular Biology at MIT, and a member of the Broad Institute. He is also an oncologist and instructor in medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
Vander Heiden is a highly esteemed physician-scientist who is internationally recognized for his remarkable research contributions to uncovering the roles of fundamental metabolic pathways in cancer onset and progression. These include identifying an alternative glycolytic pathway in cancer cells and other rapidly dividing cells, showing that macropinocytosis driven by oncogenic RAS helps fuel cancer growth, and helping uncover the oncogenic role of 2-hydroxyglutarate. These seminal findings have informed innovative strategies for early cancer detection, targeted therapy, and precision oncology.
“I am honored to join Cancer Discovery as editor-in-chief at such a pivotal time in cancer research,” said Vander Heiden. “As advances across disciplines transform our understanding of the disease, the journal has a unique opportunity to accelerate progress by publishing the most innovative and impactful science. I look forward to working with Dr. Diaz and the editorial team to ensure that Cancer Discovery continues to foster collaboration, communicate discoveries clearly, and help drive breakthroughs that improve outcomes for patients worldwide.”
An AACR member since 2010, Vander Heiden served as chair of the AACR Annual Meeting Program Committee in 2025 and a member of the Program Committee for several years prior to that time. He was cochair of the AACR Special Virtual Conference on Epigenetics and Metabolism in 2020 and a member of the Program Committee for the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in 2013 and 2014.
He has received many honors and awards over the course of his career, including the National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award (R35); the Stand Up To Cancer Phillip A. Sharp Innovation in Collaboration Award; a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar Award; and the AACR Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Research Award. In addition to being elected a Fellow of the AACR Academy in 2026, Vander Heiden is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the Association of American Physicians, European Academy of Cancer Sciences, and American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Vander Heiden earned his undergraduate, medical, and doctoral degrees at the University of Chicago. He has authored or coauthored more than 240 scientific articles and four book chapters.
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