NED mourns the passing of Brian Leyland-Jones, BSc (1st Class Honors), MB BS, PhD, FACP, FRCPC, NED’s Scientific Advisory Board Chair, who passed away on Thursday, January 8, 2026 at the age of 76. Dr. Leyland-Jones was instrumental in the early development of NED’s clinical trial for our lead systems cancer treatment, NED-170. His extensive expertise was critical to advancing preclinical models into novel clinical application and identifying essential biomarker endpoints.
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Dr. Brian Leyland-Jones was born in Telford, England, on June 20, 1949, the son of Reginald Jones and Winifred Leyland of Telford, England.
Dr. Leyland-Jones was a leader and giant in cancer research and patient advocacy worldwide. He held biochemistry, medical, and doctoral degrees from the University of London. Following residency training at St. Mary’s, Hammersmith, Brompton, St. Bartholomew’s and London Hospitals, he completed a clinical pharmacology fellowship at Cornell University and a medical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Following completion of his training, Dr. Leylan-Jones joined the academic staff at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and New York Hospitals where he pursued a special research interest in early phase clinical, clinical pharmacological, and biomarker evaluation of many anticancer compounds, including the platinum and anthracycline analogs in use today. In 1983, he moved to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to head the Developmental Chemotherapy section. During his time with the NCI, he was responsible for the overall development of approximately 70 anti-cancer compounds in various stages of transition from in-vitro screening to Phase III clinical trials, including overseeing the early development of paclitaxel in Phase 1 and 2 trials.
Dr. Leyland-Jones served as the director of two major cancer centers. From 1990 to 2000, he served as founding chair of Oncology and Director of the McGill University Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Montreal, Canada. He recruited and built a broad multifaceted cancer center, including a robust cross-hospital clinical trials enterprise, with deep clinical pharmacologic and biomarker support. Dr. Leyland-Jones continued as the Minda de Gunzberg Chair in Oncology and professor of medicine at McGill University for 7 additional years, focusing on the development and biomarker strategies of several of the new targeted oncologic agents.
He joined Emory University in 2007. As Director of the Winship Cancer Center and Associate Vice-President of Health Sciences, Dr. Leyland-Jones led the Center to obtain National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Designation, the first cancer center to do so in the State of Georgia.
Following this, Dr. Leyland-Jones joined the Avera Cancer Institute in Sioux Falls, South Dakota as the Vice President of Molecular and Experimental Medicine from 2014-2019, where he was instrumental in building the institute’s Genomics Medicine Program.
He was also a Visiting Professor at Stanford University and a Harvard alumnus (HBS Managing Health Care Delivery, prepared to be a Corporate Director- Board Governance and PLD35).
In addition to these academic positions, Dr. Leyland-Jones served as the Director and Chief Scientific Officer of The Darwin Foundation and the Chief Medical Officer, Scientific Advisory Board Member and Treasurer for the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR). He also served as the Chief Medical Officer of OTraces, Xylonix and the N OF 1 Mission, collectively devoted to the implementation of prevention and cure of malignancy globally. In addition to Chairing NED Biosystems’ Scientific Advisory Board, he sat on several national and international boards including the Asian Foundation for Cancer Research (AFCR), Non-Pareil, Ratio and was Director Emeritus for the WIN Consortium. Dr. Leyland-Jones was past Chief of Developmental Therapeutics at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
He founded or co-founded several companies including Xanthus Pharmaceuticals Ltd (exit to Antisoma), AKESOgen Inc. (exit to Tempus), Viviphi, Parthen and PITO.
Dr. Leyland-Jones was the recipient of numerous research grants including grants from the NCI (P30), NCIC, DOD Breast Cancer Center of Excellence Award and FDA (Orphan). He served as principal, co-principal and co-investigator on more than 100 clinical studies. He authored and co-authored more than 246 peer-reviewed articles and book contributions, 25 books and book chapters, 425 abstracts and 35 patents. He had a robust speaking and private consulting practice that took him all over the world.
He was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and honors, including the Cheadle Gold Medal at graduation from the University of London and being presented with the 2021 McGill University Lifetime Achievement award. Dr. Leyland-Jones was also a recipient of PMA Clinical Fellow and Faculty Awards and was a 2007 Georgia Research Alliance, Eminent Scholar and a Georgia Cancer Coalition, Distinguished Cancer Scholar.
Dr. Leyland-Jones’ principal academic contributions have been in the fields of anticancer therapy development, the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacogenetics of oncological clinical trials, the translation of preclinical models into the clinic, biomarker endpoints in Phase I/II clinical trials, and screening and mechanistic studies of novel targeted and chemotherapeutic anticancer agents. He was best known for leading major changes in breast cancer clinical trials and treatments, as well as his ongoing focus on how genomics plays a vital role in the fight against breast cancer. His legacy will continue to shape the field and the lives of patients around the world.
Brian is survived by his wife, Melissa; stepchildren, Abigail (Thurman Ray) Myers, III, and Jonathan Maxwell “Max” Anderson and one grandchild, Myron Wyatt Myers.
Surviving families in the United Kingdom are Cousins, Beverley and Anita; Anita’s husband, Brian, Anita and Brian’s children: Richard and Catherine; and their Grandchildren: Rosemary and Hartley Leyland-Jones, who proudly continue the Leyland-Jones name.
