Dr. Bill Hait is global head, Janssen Research & Development, LLC, the global research and development arm of Janssen, the pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson. In this role, he leads the global R&D group in its mission to discover and develop innovative new medicines to address the world’s most serious unmet medical needs.
Dr. Hait joined Johnson & Johnson in 2007 as senior vice president, worldwide head of hematology and oncology, Ortho Biotech Oncology R&D, and assumed the role of global therapeutic area head, oncology, in 2009.
Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, he was the founding director of The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and professor of medicine and pharmacology and associate dean for oncology programs at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School from January 1993 to March 2007. Under Dr. Hait’s leadership, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey was successful in obtaining cancer center designation from the National Cancer Institute in 1996 and received the National Cancer Institute’s highest designation of Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2002.
After earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Hait received his medical degree and doctorate (pharmacology) cum laude from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He joined the Yale University School of Medicine faculty in 1984 and was quickly promoted to associate professor of medicine and pharmacology. Dr. Hait served as associate director of the Yale University Comprehensive Cancer Center and director of the Breast Cancer Unit and co-director of the Lung Cancer Unit at the Yale University School of Medicine. He was appointed chief of medical oncology at the Yale University School of Medicine in 1988. Dr. Hait is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology.
Dr. Hait is a member of the Medical Advisory Board of both the New Jersey Breast Cancer Coalition and Susan G. Komen Foundation and is an active member on Scientific Advisory Boards of several universities. He served on various committees for the American Association for Cancer Research (chair, Clinical Cancer Research Committee), American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Association of American Cancer Institutes (Board of Directors), and the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors. Dr. Hait served as president of the American Association for Cancer Research from 2007 – 2008, and is currently serving as treasurer.