Dr. Johnson’s research interests involve understanding the biology of lung cancer and improving treatment of this and other solid tumors. Over the course of his career he played a major role in the development of several therapeutic agents including paclitaxel (Taxol), bevacizumab (Avastin) and erlotinib (Tarceva) all of which are now FDA-approved for the treatment of lung cancer. He also played a role in the clinical development of G-CSF culminating in its FDA approval.

His investigations have resulted in more than 450 publications in peer-reviewed journals and more than 50 book chapters and monographs. He served as editor for the textbooks Lung Cancer, Principles & Practice and the Textbook of Uncommon Cancer.

He is a past Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Board of Directors, and of ABIM Medical Oncology Subspecialty Board. He has served as President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), where he helped advance the organization’s quality of care activity known as the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) and was instrumental in establishing ASCO’s Cancer Survivorship Program.

Dr. Johnson also served on the Food and Drug Administration’s Oncology Drug Advisory Committee, as chairman of the Thoracic Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and on the Board of Directors of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the LiveSTRONG Foundation.