2024 Alumni Awards Profiles

Tony Reid ’78Tony Reid ’78

Reunion: 45th
Residence: San Diego, California
Grinnell major: Political science and philosophy
Other degrees: Master of Science from the University of Iowa (1981); Ph.D. in cancer biology/biochemistry from Stanford University (1987), Doctor of Medicine from Stanford University (1991)
Profession: Physician and professor emeritus of clinical medicine and oncology 

3 ways Tony embodies Grinnell College’s mission of lifetime learning and service

  1. A medical oncologist at Moores Cancer Center, Tony has led over 100 cancer drug trials. His career goal is to develop novel therapeutic approaches to diagnose, prevent, and treat tumors with gene therapy vectors.
  2. A professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, Tony spent the last two decades studying cancer gene therapy, oncolytic viral therapy, and gastroenterology oncology. He was also the academic director of an Alzheimer's/Neurocognitive Clinical Research Program at the university from 2015 to 2019.
  3. Tony has founded three companies, Noble Scientific, Peninsula Medical, and EpicentRx. He is the CEO of EpicentRx, which is a patient-driven immuno-oncology company whose singular focus is on the development of minimally toxic therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and beyond.

Something you probably didn’t know about Tony

Tony also is a medical device inventor, having been awarded four patents. 

A collage of photos featuring Tony Reid ’78

Bonus Tony Fun Facts

  • Tony organized a shared ride program so that his clinical patients can make it to their oncology appointments and treatments. He also has organized a charity run.
  • As a Grinnell student, Tony played on the football team and took part in the third Grinnell-in-London program.
  • In 2022, Tony was awarded a $500,000 Michael J. Fox Foundation grant to evaluate activity in Parkinson’s disease.

A quote about Tony

“Is there a better contribution to a community – and to the greater community that is the rest of the world – than dedicating your life BOTH to medical research AND to treating patients? And when he speaks to small or large groups, whether in the profession or to laypeople, he always mentions Grinnell College front and center on the pivotal role that going there played in his life and his career.”

– Tom Kiriakos ’78

Read more 2024 Alumni Award Recipient profiles.