Omar Kabbarah
About Omar Kabbarah
Omar Kabbarah serves as the Vice President of Translational Sciences at Arcus Biosciences, where he manages collaborations with biotech companies and pharmaceutical firms. He has extensive experience in oncology, having held leadership roles at several prominent organizations and authored articles in leading scientific journals.
Current Role at Arcus Biosciences
Omar Kabbarah serves as the Vice President of Translational Sciences at Arcus Biosciences, a position he has held since 2023. In this role, he manages multi-million-dollar collaborations with biotech companies, large pharmaceutical firms, and academic key opinion leaders. He interacts with the FDA regarding the use of tissue- and blood-based companion diagnostic tests for patient selection, contributing to the advancement of oncology treatments.
Previous Experience in Oncology
Prior to his current role, Omar Kabbarah held several significant positions in the oncology field. He worked at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals as Principal Scientist and Oncology Target Discovery Team Leader from 2009 to 2011. He then joined Genentech as Biomarker Team Leader in Oncology Biomarker Development from 2011 to 2018. Following this, he served as Vice President of Discovery Oncology at Exelixis from 2022 to 2023 and as Head of Discovery and Translational Biology at Zai Lab from 2019 to 2022.
Education and Academic Background
Omar Kabbarah completed his PhD in Molecular Genetics at Washington University School of Medicine from 1998 to 2003. He furthered his education as a Post-doctoral Fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center from 2003 to 2006. His academic training has provided a strong foundation for his expertise in oncology and translational sciences.
Contributions to Oncology Research
Omar Kabbarah has made significant contributions to oncology research through his published work. He has authored articles in top-tier journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Nature. His expertise in oncology drug discovery and development has led to repeated invitations to speak at conferences, where he shares insights on advancements in the field.
Advisory Roles and Industry Impact
Omar Kabbarah has advised both private and publicly traded companies on the application of genomic- and histopathological-based technologies for clinical and commercial purposes. His leadership in developing biomarker-based patient selection strategies has optimized the positioning of pre-clinical programs and clinical assets, impacting the oncology landscape.