Academic history

Jorge Cortes, MD, is the Chief of Hematology at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Medicine, Birmingham, AL, and the Associate Director for Translation for the UAB O’Neal Cancer Center. Prior to joining UAB in April 2026, Prof. Cortes was the Director of the Georgia Cancer Center at Augusta University, Augusta, GA. He also previously served in the Department of Leukemia at the MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston, TX, for over 20 years. Prof. Cortes received his medical degree in 1986 from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico in Mexico City, and completed his fellowship in Houston, TX.

Prof. Cortes has received various awards for his contributions in the leukemia field including the Annual Celgene Young Investigator Achievement Award for Clinical Research in Hematology in 2005, the Dr John J. Kenny Award from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2006, and the Otis W. and Pearl L. Walters Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Research from MDACC in 2007. He has authored over 1,200 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and served as the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on research studies that have shaped the treatment of leukemia.

Speaking on CML and AML clinical trials

Prof. Cortes’ clinical interests include chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and his research focuses on the development of novel drugs for these diseases. His work has led to the approval of four agents that are currently available for the treatment of leukemia.