Dr. John H. Sampson MD, PhD, MBA, MHSc
About John Sampson
Dr. John H. Sampson is Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, a position he has held since July 2024. He holds the Richard D. Krugman Endowed Chair and continues an active clinical practice in neurosurgery. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Previously, he was the Robert H. and Gloria Wilkins Distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery, Inaugural Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, and Senior Vice President of Duke University Health System and the Duke Health Integrated Practice (DHIP) at Duke University. At Duke he also held concurrent professorships in Radiation Oncology, Integrative Immunobiology, Pathology, Biomedical Engineering, and Orthopaedic Surgery, and co-led the Duke Cancer Institute Neuro-Oncology Program. He is currently listed as Robert H., MD and Gloria Wilkins Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery and Professor Emeritus in Neurosurgery at Duke. At IAG, Image Analysis Group, he serves as Scientific Advisor.
Dr. Sampson is a recognized leader in the surgical resection and experimental treatment of complex brain tumors, with a particular focus on glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). His research encompasses two principal areas: novel mechanisms of delivery of large molecular weight molecules — including monoclonal antibodies — throughout brain interstitial space using intracerebral infusion techniques, and translational immunotherapy including dendritic cell vaccination strategies and adoptive T-cell strategies targeting tumor-specific antigens. His research led to the development of a peptide vaccine targeting EGFRvIII (a common tumor-specific mutation in GBM), which received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the FDA after demonstrating extended survival in GBM patients.
His current translational work encompasses IL-12-secreting CAR-T cells for glioblastoma, IL-7-mediated expansion of autologous lymphocytes to increase CD8+ VLA-4 expression and accumulation in GBM models, peptide vaccines targeting the CMV antigen pp65 in recurrent high-grade glioma and medulloblastoma, and PCSK9 inhibitor-mediated enhancement of tumoral MHC-I expression and CD8+ infiltration. He leads the Duke Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program (BTIP), which holds seven NIH grants including a SPORE in Brain Cancer. He has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2000 and held the distinction of being the highest NIH-funded investigator in his field for several consecutive years.
Dr. Sampson has extensive experience as principal investigator and lead researcher across multiple clinical trials in neuro-oncology. Explicitly evidenced trials from supplied sources include: a Phase 2 study of bizaxofusp (an IL-4R targeted toxin payload) in nonresectable recurrent GBM with comparison to a contemporaneous eligibility-matched external control arm, presented at ASCO 2024 (Journal of Clinical Oncology 2024, DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2024.42.16_suppl.2079); a Phase 1 trial evaluating a peptide vaccine targeting CMV antigen pp65 in children and young adults with recurrent high-grade glioma and medulloblastoma (Nature Cancer 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s43018-025-00998-z); and a surgical window of opportunity trial evaluating the PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab on tumoral MHC-I expression and CD8+ infiltration in glioma (Scientific Reports 2025, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-21064-9).
He previously led the clinical development of the EGFRvIII peptide vaccine (rindopepimut/CDX-110), which received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation. The Duke Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program has supported a large portfolio of investigator-initiated and sponsored trials.
Dr. Sampson is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He has authored nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications and has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2000, holding the distinction of being the highest NIH-funded investigator in his field for several consecutive years. His EGFRvIII vaccine research received FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation. He earned the distinction of Fuqua Scholar as a top-tier graduate of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business MBA program. He conducted his research training under internationally renowned neuro-oncologist Darell D. Bigner and Nobel Laureate Gertrude Elion. His work has appeared in journals including Nature Cancer, Journal of Clinical Investigation, JAMA Network Open, and Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Sampson received his MD from the University of Manitoba, Canada (1986 to 1990). He completed an internship in surgery and residency in neurosurgery at Duke University from 1990 to 1998, and conducted research training as an Investigator in the Cerebral Hydrodynamics Lab at the University of Manitoba from 1987 to 1989. He obtained his PhD from Duke University in 1996 (neuroimmunology), his MHSc from Duke University School of Medicine in 2007, and his MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 2011, graduating as a Fuqua Scholar. His doctoral and postdoctoral research training was conducted under Darell D. Bigner and Nobel Laureate Gertrude Elion. He served as Inaugural Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke from his appointment to that role through August 2024, when he moved to the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine as Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean.