Curtis C. Harris
Curtis C. Harris is a leading American cancer researcher who heads the Molecular Genetics and Carcinogenesis Section and the Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis at the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research. He earned a BA in zoology from the University of Kansas in 1965 and an MD from KU School of Medicine in 1969. He completed an internal medicine internship at UCLA in 1970 and trained in medical oncology at the NCI and the Washington, DC VA Hospital. Since 1981, Harris has led his NCI units and has taught medicine and oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
His research focuses on how environment, genetics, and epigenetics influence cancer and aging, with an emphasis on precision cancer medicine. He is best known for establishing the first molecular link between an environmental carcinogen, aflatoxin B1, and a TP53 gene mutation (codon 249) in liver cancer, a landmark finding recognized as a Centennial Landmark by the AACR. Harris has also deepened understanding of TP53 functions in DNA repair, apoptosis, senescence, and tumor development, and more recently explored interactions between TP53 mutations and the microbiome in lung cancer. He has contributed to cancer biomarker research, showing how inflammation markers, microRNAs, DNA methylation, and metabolomics can aid risk assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and early detection.
Harris has published more than 700 papers, holds about 30 patents, and received numerous honors, including the NIH MERIT Award (2009), the NCI Outstanding Mentor Award (2007), and fellowships with the AAAS (2003) and AACR Academy (2021). He has been editor-in-chief of the journal Carcinogenesis and helped found the Aspen Cancer Conference, reflecting his long-standing impact on cancer research and education.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 21:05 (CET).