Jordi Rodon Ahnert

Jordi Rodon Ahnert, MD, PhD is Associate Professor in the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he co-directs the Clinical-Translational Research Platform. Before joining MD Anderson, Dr. Rodon was a founding leader of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona — one of the most internationally recognized European early-phase oncology programs — where he built an outstanding infrastructure combining phase I clinical trials with deep translational biomarker science. Dr. Rodon is internationally recognized for his expertise in PI3K pathway inhibitor development and adaptive trial design methodology. He has led first-in-human and dose-escalation studies of multiple PI3K, AKT, and mTOR inhibitors, contributed extensively to the clinical pharmacology characterization of these agents, and helped define the biomarker frameworks used in PI3K inhibitor patient selection. Beyond PI3K, Dr. Rodon is one of the leading advocates for adaptive platform trial designs in early-phase oncology, having co-designed and analyzed multiple Bayesian adaptive dose-escalation and expansion trials that have reduced sample size requirements and accelerated recommended phase II dose identification. He is also recognized for his work translating preclinical models — particularly patient-derived xenografts (PDX) and co-clinical trial frameworks — into phase I trial hypotheses, exemplifying a rigorous bench-to-bedside approach to drug development. Dr. Rodon has authored over 250 peer-reviewed publications and co-chaired the ESMO/AACR symposium on early drug development.