Howard McLeod

Howard McLeod is a pioneer in cancer pharmacogenomics who has spent decades translating pharmacogenetic discoveries into clinical practice. His foundational work characterized DPYD gene variants that cause life-threatening fluoropyrimidine (5-FU) toxicity, leading to pre-treatment testing recommendations now adopted in Europe and increasingly in the US. He established early models for genotype-guided chemotherapy dosing and has advanced the field from candidate gene studies to genome-wide approaches. His translational pharmacogenomics work has saved lives by preventing catastrophic chemotherapy toxicities.