David Agus

David Agus – Life, Career, and Legacy

Learn about David B. Agus, American physician, author, entrepreneur, and biomedical researcher. Explore his early life, medical innovations, books, controversies, and lasting impact on health and medicine.

Introduction

David B. Agus (born January 29, 1965) is an American physician, researcher, and author known for his work in oncology, personalized medicine, and public health communication. Although not a typical “businessman,” he has co-founded multiple biotech and personalized health companies, combining medical science with entrepreneurship. His voice frequently appears in media and public discourse about health, prevention, and the future of medicine.

Early Life and Education

David Agus was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Zalman Agus, was a professor of physiology and medicine, and his grandfather, Rabbi Jacob B. Agus, was a theologian known for interfaith dialogue.

Agus earned his Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biology, graduating cum laude from Princeton University in 1987. M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 1991.

He completed his medical training as follows:

• Internship and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in internal medicine.

• Fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

• He also spent time as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute / NIH research scholar in Washington, D.C.

This rigorous education equipped him to lead at the intersection of clinical care, research, and translational medicine.

Medical & Research Career

Early Clinical and Academic Posts

After his fellowship, Agus worked at Memorial Sloan-Kettering as an attending physician and head of the Laboratory of Tumor Biology.

Later, he was associated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, leading the Spielberg Family Center for Applied Proteomics, where he conducted proteomic and translational research.

In 2009, Agus moved to University of Southern California (USC), where he is a professor of medicine and engineering at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering.

He is the founding director and CEO of the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine, a research institute exploring new approaches in health, prevention, and cancer therapy.

Meanwhile, he also serves as Director of USC’s Westside Prostate Cancer Center.

Entrepreneurial & Innovation Ventures

Agus has co-founded or contributed to several companies and initiatives aimed at bringing personalized medicine and health technologies to practice:

• Navigenics: a company focused on genomic testing and personalized risk assessment.

• Applied Proteomics: leveraging proteomic technologies to guide treatment decisions.

• Sensei: a wellness/lifestyle company (and agricultural offshoots) tied to health monitoring and preventive strategies.

Through these, he has cultivated a role not just as a clinician and scientist, but also as a health entrepreneur trying to bridge science and public use.

Public Health, Media, & Thought Leadership

Dr. Agus is a frequent commentator on television and media about health, wellness, prevention, and medical policy. He became a CBS News contributor in May 2013.

He often speaks at high-profile platforms, including the World Economic Forum, and serves in leadership roles in global health consortia.

In 2022, he hosted the documentary-series The Checkup with Dr. David Agus, in which he explores health narratives with celebrities.

Published Works & Public Influence

Agus has authored multiple popular science and health books aimed at the general public. Among them:

• The End of Illness (2012) — one of his best-known works, exploring how we might shift toward prevention over treatment.

• A Short Guide to a Long Life (2014) — offering health rules and insights for daily living.

• The Lucky Years: How to Thrive in the Brave New World of Health (2016)

• The Book of Animal Secrets: Nature’s Lessons for a Long and Happy Life (2023)

His books cumulatively bring scientific ideas into public discourse, influencing how many non-specialist readers think about health, aging, and risk.

Controversies & Criticisms

In 2023, David Agus became subject to scrutiny when the Los Angeles Times reported that his book The Book of Animal Secrets contained at least 95 passages similar or identical to existing sources without proper attribution. The release was postponed for revision.

Further reporting suggested that earlier books—The End of Illness, A Short Guide to a Long Life, The Lucky Years—also contained instances of unattributed passages, possibly contributed by his co-writer Kristin Loberg, whom Agus claimed was unaware.

Agus publicly apologized and stated that he did not intentionally plagiarize.

This episode has prompted debates over authorship, ghostwriting, and scholarly integrity in popular science writing.

Personality, Themes & Approach

• Ambitious & boundary-crossing: Agus works across clinical care, research, media, and entrepreneurship.

• Preventive health focus: He emphasizes shifting medicine toward prevention, wellness, and earlier intervention, rather than waiting for disease to appear.

• Tech and data orientation: His projects often combine genomics, proteomics, AI/analytics, and personalized health modeling.

• Communicator to lay audiences: Agus often frames complex medical ideas in accessible language, targeting broad public readership.

• Bold assertions: He is comfortable making confident claims (e.g. health rules) which sometimes lead to critique from peers.

Legacy & Impact

David Agus’s legacy is still being written, but several contributions are notable:

1. Bridging science and public health discourse: He has helped popularize concepts of personalized medicine and preventive health among mainstream audiences.

2. Entrepreneurial translation of medicine: His founding of companies puts him in the category of physician-innovator rather than pure academic.

3. Medical leadership and institutional development: The Ellison Institute and his roles at USC position him as a figure in shaping future medical research directions.

4. Inspiring debate on authorship and scientific communication: The plagiarism controversies have sparked conversations about transparency, attribution, and responsibility in science writing.

5. Influence on health narratives: His books and media presence have encouraged many to reconsider how to age, prevent illness, and think about longevity.

Conclusion

David B. Agus is a significant figure at the intersection of medicine, innovation, and public communication. Though his primary identity is as a physician and cancer researcher, his entrepreneurial ventures, media presence, and health advocacy bring him closer to a hybrid role as a business-scientist and thought leader in health.

His work pushes the idea that medicine should not just respond to disease—but anticipate, prevent, and personalize. While his communication style and occasional controversies invite critique, his influence on public health narratives and biomedical entrepreneurship is unmistakable.