Samuel C. Blackman, MD, PhD is the founder and former Head of Research & Development at Day One Biopharmaceuticals. He is currently an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Google Ventures. Dr. Blackman is a physician-scientist trained in pediatric hematology/oncology and neuro-oncology and has led the early clinical development of more than 10 novel cancer therapeutics. He founded Day One in 2018 with Julie Grant from Canaan Partners to create a company that would focus on development of new medicines for children with cancer. Through his work at Day One he oversaw the licensing of tovorafenib in 2019, and its development for patients with BRAF-altered pediatric low-grade glioma, resulting in its FDA approval in April 2024. Prior to founding Day One, Dr. Blackman held roles of increasing responsibility at Juno Therapeutics, Seattle Genetics, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline. He was responsible for the pediatric development of dabrafenib, resulting in the first industry-sponsored pediatric oncology “basket trial”. Dr. Blackman is a graduate of the pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston, and the pediatric residency program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He received his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from the University of Chicago.