Sam Blackman

Dr. Samuel Blackman is a life sciences entrepreneur in residence and joined GV in 2025.

Dr. Blackman is physician-scientist, pediatric neuro-oncologist, and cancer drug developer. Dr. Blackman attended the University of Chicago, where he earned a degree in Philosophy in 1990. After several years conducting clinical research in anesthesia and critical care medicine, he pursued an MD and PhD in pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His training continued at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and later at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, where he developed a lifelong commitment to caring for children with cancer, blood disorders, especially children living with brain tumors.

Following his clinical training, Dr. Blackman transitioned to oncology drug development, holding senior roles at Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Seattle Genetics, Juno Therapeutics, Silverback Therapeutics, and Mavupharma. Over the next decade, he led early clinical development for more than a dozen novel cancer therapeutics, including the pediatric program for dabrafenib, which led to the first industry-sponsored pediatric oncology basket trial and ultimately to its FDA approval for children with BRAF-mutant brain tumors.

In 2018, Dr. Blackman co-founded Day One Biopharmaceuticals with Julie Grant of Canaan Partners, establishing the first biotech company dedicated to developing new therapies for children with cancer. As Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research & Development, he helped raise over $1 billion in capital and guided the company’s lead drug, tovorafenib (OJEMDA™), to FDA approval in 2024 as the first new treatment for the most common form of childhood brain tumor. Day One was acquired by Servier in 2026 for $2.5B.

He serves on the boards of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, Pheon Therapeutics, Bonum Therapeutics, Presage Biosciences, and S1 Oncology. An accomplished storyteller and storytelling coach, his stories have appeared on NPR’s The Moth Radio Hour and The Story Collider Podcast.