We are delighted to welcome Dr Alexey Danilov to the touchHAEMATOLOGY Expert Faculty!
We are thrilled to introduce Dr Alexey Danilov (Director, Early Phase Therapeutics Program and leader of the Lymphoma Center, City of Hope National Medical Center, USA) as the newest member of the touchHAEMATOLOGY Expert Faculty. Dr Danilov is an internationally recognized expert with renowned expertise in lymphoma and CLL. His career bridges cutting-edge laboratory research with early-phase clinical trials, driving forward innovative therapies that are reshaping outcomes for patients with blood cancers. In this interview, Dr Danilov reflects on what first drew him to haematology, the guiding philosophy that has sustained his career, and the legacy he hopes to leave behind.
Q1. What motivated or inspired you to specialize in haematology?
The last couple of decades have seen tremendous successes in the field of cancer therapy, where in many instances cancer has become a manageable chronic condition, with a substantial improvement of survival and quality of life among our patients. This is particularly true in haematology. Our field has been at the forefront of the development of novel treatments, including targeted therapies, cellular therapy, T/NK-cell engaging therapies and others, which also impact other areas of medicine. This success comes due to the close partnership and interaction between basic science and clinical medicine – and nowhere is this translation as pioneering as in haematology. As a physician-scientist, there is no other more exciting field to be, where I can impact lives of so many patients in a single lifetime.
Q2. Looking back, what advice or philosophy has guided you to remain dedicated and excel in your career?
The key word is ‘tenacity’. There are so many events that affect our personal lives and our careers that we cannot control and that ultimately drive our successes and ‘failures’. It is important to understand that, paraphrasing Winston Churchill, success is never final, and failure is simply a step towards something new and different. Understanding your long-term goals, always holding vision of your aspirations on the horizon, and maintaining tenacity to walk toward them, is what matters.
Q3. When you are no longer practicing, what do you want your legacy to be?
To me, the main legacy are those whom I hopefully touched and helped along the way. I was blessed to have wonderful friends and mentors in my own career – Dr Lionel Lewis and Dr Marc Ernstoff while junior faculty at Dartmouth University, and then Dr Jeff Tyner and Dr Brian Druker at Oregon Health and Science University. When I no longer practice, nothing will be as important to me as knowing that there are friends whom I helped, whether setting up their lab, or designing their first trial, or getting their first grant, or simply giving a helpful ‘political advice’ at the right moment. I call them ‘friends’, not ‘mentees’, as I receive as much mentorship from them, as they from me. This is always a two-way street.
About Dr Danilov
Dr Alexey Danilov is a physician-scientist with background in molecular biology and cancer cell signaling and expertise in oncologic drug development. He leads an independent research program in B-cell malignancies, which bridges the understanding of B-cell biology with early clinical evaluation of novel therapeutics. Dr Danilov guides an effort in experimental therapeutics and his group’s pre-clinical focus is on evaluation of novel targets in the ubiquitin-proteasome system and oncogenic role of cyclin-dependent kinase-9. In addition, his group performs correlative science on multiple clinical trials. He received peer-reviewed funding from the National Cancer Institute (R01), Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, American Society of Hematology and Lymphoma Research Foundation, and serves as Co-Chair for Translational Medicine of the Southwest Oncology Group Lymphoma Committee. Clinically, Dr Danilov is a practicing medical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with CLL and lymphoma. Building on his pre-clinical discoveries, he launched multiple early-phase clinical trials with novel agents. As a member of industry and SWOG committees and a leader within the Early Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network, he participates in drug development on a global scale.
Connect with Dr Danilov
@danilovlab
Disclosure: Dr Alexey Danilov has received consulting fees from Abbvie, ADCT, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Bristol-Meyers-Squibb, GenMab, Incyte, Janssen, Lilly Oncology, MEI Pharma, Merck, Nurix, Regeneron and Roche. He has ongoing research funding from Abbvie, AstraZeneca, Beigene, GenMab, Incyte, Lilly Oncology, Merck, Nurix and Regeneron.
Cite: A warm welcome to Dr Alexey Danilov joining our Editorial Board! touchHAEMATOLOGY. August 26th, 2025
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