David Jaffray, Ph.D

David Jaffray is senior vice president and chief technology and digital officer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also is professor of Radiation Physics with a dual appointment as professor of Imaging Physics.

Recruited to MD Anderson in May 2019, Dr. Jaffray is the institution’s first-ever chief technology and digital officer, bringing more than two decades of scientific expertise and proven skill as an innovator. In his new role, he will direct the strategic design, acquisition, management and implementation of an enterprise-wide technology infrastructure at MD Anderson to safeguard the integrity and availability of the institution’s systems and intellectual property assets. While overseeing the Information Services division and Information Security department, Dr. Jaffray will lead efforts to advance data integration, data governance and data security across MD Anderson’s Houston campuses and its national network, as well as coordinate technology-enabled innovation. Additionally, he will collaborate with the Strategic Industry Ventures team and the chief scientific officer in advancing meaningful partnerships with industry.

Before joining MD Anderson, Dr. Jaffray served as executive vice president for Technology and Innovation at the University Health Network (UHN)/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, Ontario. He led UHN’s information technology transformation, designed the roadmap for digital transformation and initiated the procurement process for UHN’s health information system. He also served in several other leadership roles at UHN, including vice chair of Radiation Oncology, founding director of Preclinical and Computational Cores for the STTARR Innovation Centre, and director of the Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health.

Dr. Jaffray has an interest in commercialization and has led the development of a variety of commercial products, including software and hardware for safe, high-quality cancer care and the development of small-animal irradiator systems for basic research. He holds multiple patents and has authored more than 275 peer-reviewed publications. During the course of his career, he has received many honors, including the Sylvia Sorkin-Greenfield Award, the Farrington Daniels Award and the Sylvia Fedoruk Award. In 2018, he received the Gold Medal from the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Dr. Jaffray earned his bachelor’s in physics from the University of Alberta, and his doctorate in medical biophysics from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.