Dr. Marina Garassino

Biography

Marina Chiara Garassino, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago and the Director of Thoracic Programs in the Section of Hematology/Oncology. An internationally recognized thoracic medical oncologist, Dr. Garassino specializes in the care of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), mesothelioma, and thymic malignancies. She earned her medical degree and completed her oncology training at Università degli Studi di Milano, followed by clinical fellowships at San Raffaele Scientific Institute and Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, and at Christie’s Hospital in Manchester, UK. Since joining the University of Chicago in 2021, she has served as Chief Medical Officer of the Thoracic Oncology Unit at Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, which is one of Europe's leading comprehensive cancer centers. Dr. Garassino holds a Master’s degree in Oncology Management from Bocconi University, reflecting her longstanding interest in redesigning cancer care pathways. Her research has significantly impacted global standards of care for lung cancer, and she has been a Principal Investigator in pivotal trials like KEYNOTE-189, which established chemo-immunotherapy as the first-line standard for metastatic NSCLC. Throughout her career, she has led major studies such as TAILOR, demonstrating the limitations of EGFR inhibitors in patients with wild-type EGFR, and contributed to the development of targeted therapies including EGFR and MET inhibitors. She has authored over 350 peer-reviewed publications in the field of clinical trials and translational oncology, and is at the forefront of AI-driven multimodal research in thoracic oncology, co-leading the I3LUNG project, aimed at developing AI tools for individualized immunotherapy decisions.

Research Interests