John M. Maris, MD
Leader

John M. Maris, MD

Director, The Center for Childhood Cancer Research
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

John M. Maris, MD, is Giulio D’Angio chair in neuroblastoma research and professor of pediatrics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He currently serves as director of the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Maris completed his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and performed all of his postdoctoral training in pediatric hematology/oncology and genetics at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Maris’ group has discovered the majority of the genes that influence susceptibility to human neuroblastoma using both traditional family-based linkage approaches and genome wide-association approaches. In parallel, his group has identified many of the oncogenic drivers of the disease. Together, this work has resulted in the implementation of new genomic biomarkers of outcome that are now routinely used in the clinic, and several early-phase clinical trials of new targeted therapeutics. Maris has led large collaborative research efforts focused on translational oncology, most recently a genomic dissection of more than 300 high-risk neuroblastoma cases using next-generation sequencing technologies, resulting in an unprecedented detailed characterization of the hereditary and somatic neuroblastoma genomes.

Maris has published more than 220 peer-reviewed manuscripts and dozens of book chapters and review articles. He is recognized as a leading expert in the field of pediatric oncology and serves on several scientific advisory boards and committees, including for the National Cancer Institute, the American Association for Cancer Research, Genome Canada and many private foundations. Maris has received several prestigious awards, including election into the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Oski award for outstanding pediatric oncologists, the Berwick award at the University of Pennsylvania for melding basic and clinical teaching, and the William Osler Patient-Oriented Research Award at the University of Pennsylvania.