David Johnson, M.D.

Biography

David H. Johnson, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Hematology and Oncology. He specializes in thoracic oncology and holds the R. Ellwood Jones, M.D. Distinguished Professorship in Clinical Education.

Dr. Johnson earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia and performed his residency in internal medicine at the University of South Alabama. He then completed advanced training in medical oncology through a fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2010 and served as the Donald W. Seldin Distinguished Chair of Internal Medicine until 2020.

Dr. Johnson’s career has been largely devoted to the development of new treatments for lung cancers. He played a major role in the development of several therapeutic agents, including paclitaxel (Taxol), bevacizumab (Avastin), and erlotinib (Tarceva), all of which are now FDA-approved for the treatment of lung cancer. He also played a role in the clinical development of the neutropenia drug G-CSF, culminating in its FDA approval.

His investigations have resulted in more than 450 publications in peer-reviewed journals and more than 50 book chapters and monographs. He is an editor of the textbooks Lung Cancer, Principles & Practice and Textbook of Uncommon Cancer, and he has served on numerous journal editorial boards and cancer center scientific advisory boards.

He is a past Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Board of Directors and of the ABIM Medical Oncology Subspecialty Board. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and served a term as President, where he helped advance the organization’s quality of care activity known as the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative and was instrumental in establishing ASCO’s Cancer Survivorship Program. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians, an Elected Member of the Association of American Physicians, and a member of several other professional societies.

Dr. Johnson also served on the Food and Drug Administration’s Oncology Drug Advisory Committee, as Chair of the Thoracic Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, and on the Board of Directors of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, and the LiveSTRONG Foundation.

He has received numerous honors and awards, including the 2019 Giants of Cancer Care Award.

Personal Note

When he’s not at work, Dr. Johnson enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, reading (especially biographies, medical history, and U.S. history), painting occasionally (watercolors), and “bird looking.” He says, “Bird looking is different than bird watching. Bird watching infers a deeper knowledge and understanding of birds. I just like looking at them.”