Marina Chiara Garassino, MD, is a Professor of Medicine and Director of Thoracic Programs in the Section of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago. An internationally recognized thoracic medical oncologist, she specializes in the care of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), mesothelioma, and thymic malignancies.
Dr. Garassino received her medical degree and completed her oncology training at the Università degli Studi di Milano, followed by clinical fellowships at San Raffaele Scientific Institute, the Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT) in Milan, and Christie’s Hospital in Manchester (UK). Before joining UChicago in 2021, she served as Chief of the Medical Thoracic Oncology Unit at INT Milan, one of Europe’s leading comprehensive cancer centers. She also holds a Master’s in Oncology Management from Bocconi University, reflecting her longstanding interest in redesigning cancer care pathways.
Her research has helped reshape global standards of care in lung cancer. She was global Principal Investigator of the pivotal KEYNOTE-189 trial, which established chemo-immunotherapy as a first-line standard for metastatic NSCLC, and a leading investigator in landmark studies such as PACIFIC and KEYNOTE-671 that integrated immunotherapy into earlier stages of disease. Earlier in her career, she led the TAILOR trial, a practice-changing study demonstrating the limits 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 more than 350 peer-reviewed publications spanning clinical trials, biomarkers, and translational oncology.
Dr. Garassino is also at the forefront of AI-driven and multimodal research in thoracic oncology. She co-leads I3LUNG, a large international effort to develop AI tools for individualized immunotherapy decisions. She has contributed to innovative work applying deep learning to rare tumors such as thymic epithelial malignancies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she founded and led TERAVOLT, a global registry examining outcomes of patients with thoracic cancers and COVID-19. A Fellow of ESMO and “The Lancet” Commissioner, she is the founder and honorary president of Women for Oncology Italy and the co-Chair for Women in Thoracic Oncology.
Neoadjuvant vs perioperative chemo-immunotherapy according to pathological response in resectable non-small cell lung cancer: a reconstructed individual patient data meta-analysis.
Neoadjuvant vs perioperative chemo-immunotherapy according to pathological response in resectable non-small cell lung cancer: a reconstructed individual patient data meta-analysis. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2025 Nov 01; 117(11):2388-2393.
PMID: 40210599
Management of Autoimmune Conditions Associated With Thymic Epithelial Tumors.
Management of Autoimmune Conditions Associated With Thymic Epithelial Tumors. J Thorac Oncol. 2026 Jan; 21(1):77-101.
PMID: 40983285
Durvalumab Plus Platinum-Etoposide in Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Outcomes in Age, Sex, and Platinum Subgroups From the Phase 3 CASPIAN Study.
Durvalumab Plus Platinum-Etoposide in Extensive-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Outcomes in Age, Sex, and Platinum Subgroups From the Phase 3 CASPIAN Study. Clin Lung Cancer. 2025 Dec; 26(8):626-641.
PMID: 40887341
The Italian Mauris Phase IIIb Trial of Atezolizumab Plus Carboplatin and Etoposide for Patients With Newly Diagnosed Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: 3-Year End-of-Study Results.
The Italian Mauris Phase IIIb Trial of Atezolizumab Plus Carboplatin and Etoposide for Patients With Newly Diagnosed Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer: 3-Year End-of-Study Results. Clin Lung Cancer. 2025 Nov; 26(7):541-551.
PMID: 40738833
Lurbinectedin with atezolizumab maintenance therapy in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer.
Lurbinectedin with atezolizumab maintenance therapy in extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer. Lancet. 2025 Jun 14; 405(10495):2104-2106.
PMID: 40516996
Impact of Tumor Response and Response Duration on Survival Among Participants Receiving Pembrolizumab Plus Chemotherapy as First-Line Therapy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.
Impact of Tumor Response and Response Duration on Survival Among Participants Receiving Pembrolizumab Plus Chemotherapy as First-Line Therapy for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer. Oncol Ther. 2025 Sep; 13(3):667-681.
PMID: 40498298
Tracking the Response to Immunotherapy: Blood microRNA Dynamics in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
Tracking the Response to Immunotherapy: Blood microRNA Dynamics in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. JCO Precis Oncol. 2025 May; 9:e2400790.
PMID: 40403209
Quantum machine learning-based electrokinetic mining for the identification of nanoparticles and exosomes with minimal training data.
Quantum machine learning-based electrokinetic mining for the identification of nanoparticles and exosomes with minimal training data. Bioact Mater. 2025 Sep; 51:414-430.
PMID: 40496630
Plain language summary of the EVOKE-01 study of sacituzumab govitecan vs docetaxel in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.
Plain language summary of the EVOKE-01 study of sacituzumab govitecan vs docetaxel in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Future Oncol. 2025 Oct; 21(25):3245-3257.
PMID: 40371894
Adverse events self-reported by patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer in the phase III CASPIAN study.
Adverse events self-reported by patients with extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer in the phase III CASPIAN study. Future Oncol. 2025 May; 21(12):1511-1523.
PMID: 40331625