Scott Kopetz

Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD is Professor and Deputy Chair of the Department of GI Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is one of the most influential translational investigators in colorectal cancer worldwide, combining deep molecular biology expertise with a highly productive clinical trials program. Dr. Kopetz was a principal investigator of the ANCHOR-CRC trial investigating encorafenib plus binimetinib plus cetuximab as first-line therapy in BRAFV600E-mutant mCRC, and has contributed extensively to the BEACON CRC program. He is internationally recognized for his work on consensus molecular subtypes (CMS) in CRC — as a co-developer of the CMS classification system (CMS1–4) that has become the standard molecular taxonomy for colorectal cancer research and is increasingly incorporated into clinical trial design. Dr. Kopetz has also been a pioneer in ctDNA-based minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in stage II–III CRC, demonstrating that post-operative ctDNA positivity predicts recurrence risk and can guide adjuvant therapy decisions. He leads a highly productive laboratory program studying KRAS signaling networks, MEK feedback reactivation, and adaptive resistance in CRC. He has authored more than 350 publications and is an editorial board member of Cancer Cell and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.