Fearon received his undergraduate, medical and doctorate degrees from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, he was a faculty member at Yale University School of Medicine. He holds the title of professor in the departments of Internal Medicine, Human Genetics and Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. In 2010, Fearon was appointed division chief for the Molecular Medicine and Genetics Division in the Department of Internal Medicine.

Fearon has authored more than 135 peer-reviewed research manuscripts and more than 60 review/editorial articles and book chapters. He has pursed research in the cancer genetics field, particularly investigations of selected gene defects that underlie colon and rectal tumor development and progression to advanced stages. He has served on the editorial boards of various journals in the cancer biology and human genetics fields and currently is an editorial board member or editor for a number of journals, including The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Current Biology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Gastroenterology and Molecular Cancer Research. In addition, he has served as a member or chair of various National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute advisory groups and grant review committees, including the Panel to Investigate the NIH Investment in Gene Therapy, the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, and the NIH Pathology B and Cancer Genetics Study Sections.

Fearon’s honors include election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (where he served as vice president, president-elect and president), the Association of American Physicians, the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars and the National Academy of Medicine. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.