I joined Genentech in January 2004 as a scientist in the Molecular Diagnostics department, following five years at a biotechnology company. I was attracted to Genentech based on their commitment to maintain a cutting-edge research environment, in addition to their emphasis on the clinical development of targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer.

I've since been involved in developing predictive diagnostics and understanding patient response to our novel therapies, including vismodegib and onartuzumab (MetMAb).

• My Focus

  My group is focused on the identification and development of predictive biomarkers for novel therapeutics in our pipeline. We utilize a variety of approaches, including pharmacogenomic modeling, to identify molecular or proteomic -based markers that predict for drug activity in pre-clinical model systems. Our effort to generate a diagnostic hypothesis guides the early development of diagnostic tests and facilitates the design of clinical trials to ultimately enable the personalization of our therapies.

  In addition, my group is interested in understanding the mechanisms that underlie the development of resistance to our targeted therapies. Through a combination of preclinical modeling and tumor biopsy profiling, we can begin to understand why cancer cells may evade these drugs. Elucidating these underlying mechanisms and their prevalence is critical in guiding rational therapeutic approaches to overcome and/or prevent the development of drug resistance in the future.

• Publications

  • HGF as a circulating biomarker of onartuzumab treatment in patients with advanced solid tumors

    Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 2013, ISSN: 1535-7163

    Penuel, Elicia; Li, Congfen; Parab, Vaishali; Burton, Luciana; Cowan, Kyra J; Merchant, Mark; Yauch, Robert L; Patel, Premal; Peterson, Amy; Hampton, Garret M; Lackner, Mark R; S Hegde, Priti

     View on PubMed

  • A Randomized Phase II Trial of Vismodegib versus Placebo with FOLFOX or FOLFIRI and Bevacizumab in Patients with Previously Untreated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

    Clinical Cancer Research, 2012, ISSN: 1078-0432

    Berlin, Jordan; Bendell, Johanna C.; Hart, Lowell L.; Firdaus, Irfan; Gore, Ira; Hermann, Robert C.; Mulcahy, Mary F.; Zalupski, Mark M.; Mackey, Howard M.; Yauch, Robert L.; Graham, Richard A.; Bray, Gordon L.; Low, Jennifer A.

     View on PubMed

  • A phase II, randomized, placebo-controlled study of vismodegib as maintenance therapy in patients with ovarian cancer in second or third complete remission

    Clinical Cancer Research, 2012, ISSN: 1078-0432

    Kaye, Stanley B.; Fehrenbacher, Louis; Holloway, Robert; Amit, Amnon; Karlan, Beth; Slomovitz, Brian; Sabbatini, Paul; Fu, Ling; Yauch, Robert L.; Chang, Ilsung; Reddy, Josina C.

     View on PubMed

  • Recent advances in pathway-targeted cancer drug therapies emerging from cancer genome analysis

    Current Opinion in Genetics & Development, 2012, ISSN: 0959-437X

    Yauch, Robert L; Settleman, Jeff

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  • Pharmacokinetic–Pharmacodynamic Analysis of Vismodegib in Preclinical Models of Mutational and Ligand-Dependent Hedgehog Pathway Activation

    Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, {Clin-Cancer-Res}, 15 Jul 2011 (epub: 24 May 2011), vol. 17, no. 14, p. 4682-92, ISSN: 1078-0432.

    Wong, Harvey; Alicke, Bruno; West, Kristina A; Pacheco, Patricia; La, Hank; Januario, Tom; Yauch, Robert L; de Sauvage, Frederic J; Gould, Stephen E

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  • Small molecule inhibition of GDC-0449 refractory Smoothened mutants and downstream mechanisms of drug resistance.

    Cancer Research, 2010, ISSN: 1538-7445

    Dijkgraaf, G.J.P.; Alicke, B.; Weinmann, L.; Januario, T.; West, K.; Modrusan, Z.; Burdick, D.; Goldsmith, R.; Robarge, K.; Sutherlin, D.; Scales, S.J.; Gould, S.E.; Yauch, R.L.; de Sauvage, F.J.

  • Smoothened mutation confers resistance to a hedgehog pathway inhibitor in medulloblastoma.

    Science, 2009, ISSN: 0036-8075

    Yauch, R.L.; Dijkgraaf, G.J.P.; Alicke, B.; Januario,T.; Ahn, C.P.; Holcomb, T.; Pujara, K.; Stinson, J.; Callahan, C.A.; Tang, T.; Bazan, J.F.; Kan, Z.; Seshagiri, S.; Hann, C.L.; Gould, S.E.; Low, J.A.; Rudin, C.M.; de Sauvage, F.J.

  • Brief Report: treatment of medulloblastoma with hedgehog pathway inhibitor GDC-0449.

    New England Journal of Medicine, 2009, ISSN: 0028-4793

    Rudin, C.M.; Hann, C.L.; Laterra, J.; Yauch, R.L.; Callahan, C.A.; Fu, L.; Holcomb, T.; Stinson, J.; Gould, S.E.; Coleman, B.; LoRusso, P.M.; Von Hoff, D.D.; de Sauvage, F.J.; Low, J.A.

  • Inhibition of the hedgehog pathway in advanced basal-cell carcinoma.

    New England Journal of Medicine, 2009, ISSN: 0028-4793

    Von Hoff, D.D.; LoRusso, P.M.; Rudin, C.M.; Reddy, J.C.; Yauch, R.L.; Tibes, R.; Weiss, G.J.; Borad, M.J.; Hann, C.L.; Brahmer, J.R.; Mackey, H.M.; Lum, B.L.; Darbonne, W.C.; Marsters, J.C.; de Sauvage, F.J.; Low J.A.

• Education
  • Harvard University, Boston, MA Postdoctoral Fellow – 1998
  • Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, Ph.D. – 1995
  • Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, B.S. – 1990
• Awards & Honors
  • Roche Pharma CEO Award for Innovation and Excellence – 2009
  • NIH/NIAID National Research Service Award – 1998
  • Ciba - Geigy Corporation, New Jersey Cancer Research Award for Scientific Excellence – 1990