Lewis Cantley

Lewis Cantley discovered phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and established the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling axis as a central pathway in cancer biology. His foundational biochemical characterization of PI3K activity and identification of PIP3 as a second messenger that recruits and activates AKT created the framework for the entire PI3K pathway field. He identified PI3K alpha as the primary driver isoform in cancer and contributed to the development of isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors including alpelisib, now FDA-approved for PIK3CA-mutated breast cancer. His decades of PI3K research have made him one of the most influential figures in cancer signal transduction.