By: Elowen Gray
Most people, when they see something wrong in their field, stay quiet. They weigh the risks of speaking out, calculate the potential backlash, and often decide it’s not worth it. Dr. Steven Quay took a different path.
It was the early days of his medical career at Massachusetts General Hospital when Quay encountered scientific fraud firsthand. The discovery was unsettling—not only because someone had manipulated data, but because he saw how easily the system could look the other way. He had a choice: ignore it and move on, or call it out and risk his career. He chose the latter.
This decision wasn’t a one-time act of defiance; it was a reflection of his values. Quay has spent his career operating under the belief that science should strive for truth, no matter how inconvenient. That mindset has helped shape his work in medicine, from developing potentially life-changing therapies to questioning widely accepted narratives in healthcare.
A Path Shaped by Curiosity and Conviction
Born and raised in Northville, Michigan, Quay didn’t come from a family of scientists. But he did come from a family of teachers and has fond memories of being seven or eight years old and accompanying his father to his high school chemistry classroom on weekends, as his Dad prepared for the coming week’s lessons. His early curiosity led him to study chemistry, biology, and mathematics at Western Michigan University before earning his MD and PhD from the University of Michigan. From there, he went on to work with Nobel laureate H. Gobind Khorana at MIT, an experience that helped refine both his intellect and his discipline.
Unlike many researchers who follow well-trodden paths, Quay gravitated toward the unknown. He wasn’t interested in simply adding incremental improvements to existing treatments; he wanted to explore entirely new ways of diagnosing and treating disease. That drive led him to pioneer MRI contrast agents, a technology that has contributed to more accurate tumor detection. It also led him to explore intranasal drug delivery long before it became a widely accepted method.
Science and Business: Bridging the Gap
Many brilliant scientists struggle with the leap from research to real-world application. But Quay understood early on that medical breakthroughs may not achieve their full impact if they never reach patients. That realization pushed him to step into the world of entrepreneurship.
In his 30s and while teaching at Stanford Medical School, he founded Salutar, a biotech company focused on MRI imaging agents, and later SONUS, which worked on ultrasound drug delivery. His significant venture to date has been Atossa Therapeutics, where he has spent years working on new therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
His approach hasn’t always aligned with the status quo. While many pharmaceutical companies focus on treatments that offer quicker returns, Quay has prioritized solutions that could change the standard of care, even if they take longer to develop. One of his notable areas of research involves (Z)-endoxifen, a drug that may improve the way estrogen-driven breast cancer is treated. He sees it as more than just another therapy; it’s an opportunity to explore how we approach prevention and treatment at the earliest stages.
The Role of a Public Scientist
Beyond the lab, Quay has embraced a role that many scientists avoid: public engagement. He has written books, delivered TEDx talks, and testified before Congress, all in an effort to bridge the gap between science and public understanding. Whether it’s explaining the complexities of breast cancer treatment or addressing global health concerns, he sees communication as a responsibility, not just an afterthought.
That willingness to engage has made him both a respected voice and, at times, a controversial figure. But he doesn’t seem overly concerned with whether his views are popular; he’s more interested in whether they’re well-supported.
A Legacy of Integrity
There’s a through-line in Steven Quay’s career, from his decision to expose fraud as a young doctor to his relentless pursuit of new medical breakthroughs: an insistence that truth matters. It’s easy to look at his patents, his companies, or his research and see a successful scientist. But success, for Quay, has never been just about innovation. It has been about integrity, about striving to ensure that science serves people, not politics or profit margins.
His story isn’t one of overnight triumphs or easy wins. It’s one of persistence, of standing firm when it would have been easier to back down, and of pursuing ideas that may not yield immediate results but have the potential to change lives in the long run.
And in the end, that might be the important lesson from his career: that doing the right thing, even when it’s difficult, can be worth it.
Published by Stephanie M.
