George Demetri

George Demetri is the pioneer who led the clinical development of imatinib for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), achieving a landmark FDA approval in 2001 that established GIST as the paradigm for targeted therapy in solid tumors. He has subsequently led trials of sunitinib, regorafenib, and ripretinib in imatinib-resistant GIST, establishing successive lines of therapy. His laboratory investigates mechanisms of kinase inhibitor resistance and next-generation KIT inhibitors. His career-defining contributions to GIST therapy transformed a uniformly fatal sarcoma into a manageable chronic disease.