Friday, February 20, 2026

Roche appoints Mark Dawson to lead pRED

Roche has appointed Mark Dawson, M.D., Ph.D., as the new Head of Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), effective 1 May 2026. Based in Basel, he will also join the company’s Enlarged Corporate Executive Committee.

CEO Thomas Schinecker said Dawson combines clinical and scientific leadership and will take on the role at a key point for Roche’s early R&D organisation.

Move from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Dawson joins Roche from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where he is Associate Director of Research. His research background is in cancer biology, with a focus on chromatin regulation and epigenetics.

He also holds a professorial appointment at the University of Melbourne and is an elected member of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).

Education and recognition

Dawson received his medical degree from the University of Melbourne in 1999, completed specialist training in haematology, and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. Roche highlighted several international honours, including the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science (Life Scientist of the Year, 2020), the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, the William Dameshek Prize from the American Society of Hematology, and recognition as a Howard Hughes International Research Scholar.