Dr. David R. Gandara received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and was an intern and resident at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, WA, and a fellow at the Letterman Army Medical Center Presidio of San Francisco, CA. Dr. Gandara is currently professor of Medicine at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) School of Medicine, senior advisor to the director in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, and director of the Thoracic Oncology Program at UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine specializing in medical oncology. Dr. Gandara is principal investigator for a number of research projects in lung cancer, pharmacology trials at various phases, and Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) trials. He is the principal investigator for a National Cancer Institute award to the California Cancer Consortium for Early Therapeutic Trials of New Anti-Cancer Agents. He is chair of the SWOG Lung Committee, and a member and prior co-chair of the NCI-directed Investigational Drug Steering Committee (IDSC). Dr. Gandara has written over 300 articles, book chapters, abstracts, and editorials. He is editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Lung Cancer, serves on the editorial board of four oncology journals, and is a manuscript reviewer for eight additional journals. He served as president of International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) from 2009 to 2011, and is on the board of directors of IASLC, and is a prior board member and secretary-treasurer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). He also is chair of the NCI-directed Lung Correlative Science Committee.