Dr. Katz joined Oncternal Therapeutics in July 2023 as VP of Clinical Development and serves as medical lead on the ONCT-534 and ONCT-808 programs as well as head of pharmacovigilance. Prior to joining Oncternal, Dr. Katz was Senior Medical Director of Clinical Development at Viracta Therapeutics, a San Diego based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel targeted therapies for virally-associated malignancies; in this capacity he led the company’s solid tumor portfolio and global safety efforts. He had also led and supported several late-phase programs across multiple solid tumor indications as Medical Director at Exelixis. Prior to this, as Medical Director at Calviri, Dr. Katz oversaw the company’s transition of a robust preclinical theranostics portfolio into initial cancer vaccine clinical trials. He continues to practice inpatient medicine as an attending physician at the University of California San Diego Medical Center, and is a renowned clinical educator having delivered hundreds of invited lectures across dozens of US medical programs. Dr. Katz was recently featured on the “Top 25 Healthcare Technology Leaders of San Diego” report in 2022. Dr. Katz received his B.S. in Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis, M.D. from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and completed his internal medicine residency at Georgetown University Hospital.
