Jorge Cortes MD

Dr. Jorge Eduardo Cortes, MD, is a worldwide expert in leukemia research, with unique expertise in clinical and translational research, particularly myeloid leukemias. For the last 30 years, his efforts have focused on developing new therapies and predictive models for leukemia, reducing the toxicity of cancer therapy, and improving the quality of life of patients under treatment. Dr. Cortes is a global leader in pivotal clinical trials. His team's efforts resulted in the FDA-approval of 4 drugs for the treatment of patients with leukemia (bosutinib, ponatinib, omacetaxine, glasdegib). Additionally, he actively participated in the development and FDA-approval of CPX-351, gilteritinib, quizartinib, and crenolanib.

As director of the Georgia Cancer Center, Dr. Cortes' goals have extended to reducing the disparities in cancer diagnosis and treatment that some populations face in order to build strategies and interventions to accelerate progress toward health equity in cancer. He is leading the Teledermatology in Rural Georgia Program that provides remote consultations (telemedicine/teledermatology) for patients with skin lesions by partnering primary care providers practicing at clinics in rural Georgia with expert physicians in the Department of Dermatology at Augusta University. He is also involved in the effort to provide partnerships with health systems and clinics in eleven counties in Georgia to implement interventions aiming at increasing colorectal cancer screening rates among underserved patients.