Comprehensive Cancer Center Leadership

Michelle M. Le Beau, PhD, Arthur and Marian Edelstein Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, was appointed director of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center in April 2004. Dr. Le Beau is particularly well qualified to enhance translational and interdisciplinary research at the Comprehensive Cancer Center, in view of her impressive record of converting fundamental laboratory findings into highly relevant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with hematological malignant diseases.

Dr. Le Beau received her PhD in pathology and genetics in 1981 at the University of Illinois. She subsequently obtained post-doctoral training at The University of Chicago Medicine under the mentorship of Janet D. Rowley, MD, DSc, the Blum-Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, and was appointed to the faculty in 1986, rising to tenured professor in 1997. In her capacity as director of the Cancer Cytogenetics Laboratory, Dr. Le Beau directs a cancer diagnostics laboratory, which performs cytogenetic analysis of leukemias, lymphomas, and solid tumors. She is board-certified in clinical cytogenetics by the American Board of Medical Genetics.

Active in many leadership roles, she previously served as the vice president/president elect for the Association of American Cancer Institutes. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the American Society of Hematology. She is also a member of the National Cancer Institute Scientific Advisory Board. 

Dr. Le Beau has been a leader in identifying the recurring cytogenetic abnormalities in hematological malignant diseases, in defining the clinical, morphological, and cytogenetic subsets of leukemias and lymphomas, and in identifying the genetic pathways that lead to myeloid leukemias. Much of her work has focused on therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML), and she is the principal investigator of a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored Program Project (P01) grant examining the etiology of t-AML.

Dr. Le Beau has a distinguished record of achievement in basic and translational research. Her entire career has focused on cancer research, and she has extensive experience in building interdisciplinary research programs, developing the careers of young scientists, and overseeing the administration of large peer-reviewed grants amongst other responsibilities.

Walter Stadler, MD, Fred C. Buffet Professor of Medicine and Surgery, dean for clinical research, and director of the genitourinary program, is the deputy director of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Stadler joined the faculty more than 20 years ago and focuses his research on innovative treatments for urological cancers as well as clinical trial design. He concentrates on the use of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, and molecularly targeted therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease. His research focuses on the development of new treatments for these urological cancers. Dr. Stadler’s recent research includes development of molecular and imaging markers for predicting response to various anti-cancer therapies.

As deputy director, Dr. Stadler assists and advises the director with strategic planning, general administration of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, and implementation of specific programs. He also participates in institutional long-range planning and maintains contact with members of the External and Internal Advisory Committees.

Habibul Ahsan, MBBS, MMedSc, Louis Block Distinguished Service Professor of Health Studies, Medicine, and Human Genetics, is the associate director for population research at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center and director of the University of Chicago Institute for Population and Precision Health.

He works closely with the director and the other program leaders in shaping and refining the population research programmatic goals and activities within the context of the overall cancer center mission. Specifically, Dr. Ahsan leads the faculty recruitment and pilot research programs for the population research division to augment the existing programmatic strengths and bridge both intra- and inter-programmatic interactions.

His research focus is on the effects of environmental agents and their interplay with genetic and other host factors in the development of cancer and other disorders.

Dr. Ahsan has been conducting a series of large epidemiological and clinical studies in Bangladesh to examiHabibune the health effects of arsenic exposure and evaluating strategies for their prevention. He also led a number of studies in the U.S. examining the role of genetic susceptibility and its interactions with environmental factors in the development of breast and other cancers.

M. Eileen Dolan, PhD, professor of medicine, chair of the committee on clinical pharmacology and pharmacogenomics, and program co-leader of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center pharmacogenomics and experimental therapeutics program, is the Comprehensive Cancer Center associate director for education.

In this role, Dr. Dolan expands, integrates and coordinates all cancer-related educational efforts in the Comprehensive Cancer Center. She coordinates a summer research program for high school and undergraduate students to perform cancer research and organizes “science boot camp” for these students. She organizes bi-monthly seminar series for faculty and students. She coordinates new cancer-related educational opportunities for graduate students and fellows.

Dr. Dolan is considered a leader in pharmacogenomics of anticancer agents. She is known for developing cell-based methods to identify genetic variants contributing to chemotherapeutic induced toxicity. Her laboratory lead the way in using International HapMap lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) to demonstrate that chemotherapeutic induced cytotoxicity is a heritable trait and demonstrated differences in gene expression and sensitivity to chemotherapy in LCLs derived from individuals of European, African, African American and Asian descent. More recently, her laboratory is employing induced pluripotent stem cell derived neuronal cells to evaluate chemotherapeutic induced neuropathy, the most common non-hematologic adverse effect of chemotherapy. She is involved in a number of clinical genome wide association studies to identify and functionally validate genetic variants/genes contributing to chemotherapeutic-induced toxicities.

Geoffrey Greene, PhD, is the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor, chair of The Ben May Department for Cancer Research, co-director of the Ludwig Center for Metastasis, and associate director for basic sciences at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Greene oversees the implementation, organization, and activities of the Comprehensive Cancer Center research programs and core facilities that support these programs. He assists and advises the Comprehensive Cancer Center director on strategic and operational decisions and participates in philanthropic fundraising efforts, especially with The University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation (UCCRF).

Dr. Greene is internationally recognized for his many contributions to the field of steroid hormone action and breast cancer. His contributions have improved not only our understanding of the nature and function of steroid receptors, but also their measurement and utility in cancer. In addition, his ongoing structural studies have helped define novel selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) that may be suitable for breast and uterine cancer prevention in women, as well as for use in promoting many of the desirable effects of estrogen, such as maintenance of bone density and cardiovascular function, while reducing undesirable side effects.

Karen Kim, MD, professor of medicine, specializes in the prevention, screening, and early detection of colorectal cancer, hepatitis B, and women’s health issues–particularly functional bowel diseases. She is skilled in the assessment of hereditary colon cancer syndromes and colon cancer risk in families.

Dr. Kim’s research explores chemoprevention for colon cancer and screening methods for populations with average and high risk. Her research interests include underserved and minority populations, understanding health disparities, cultural competency, and cancer prevention. She has also studied the education and awareness of hepatitis B in Asian Americans through screening, advocacy, treatment, and immunization for liver cancer prevention.

Dr. Kim directs the Office of Community Engagement and Cancer Health Equity and the Center for Asian Health Equity.

Marcy A. List, PhD, leads the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center administrative unit. She has served in this capacity for a decade and brings extensive experience in cancer center administration and population research.

She joined UChicago Medicine faculty in 1992 as a research associate (associate professor) in the Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology. For over a decade, she was involved in cancer control research, specifically quality of life in head and neck cancer.

As associate director for administration, Dr. List has broad oversight for administrative and fiscal management of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, including accounting and financial transactions, personnel, IT infrastructure to support clinical trials operations, pre- and post-awards for the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) and multiple interdepartmental grants, Cancer Center public relations and publications, and philanthropic activities. She is the former scientific director for the Cancer Clinical Trials Office (CCTO) and oversees the Protocol Reviewing and Monitoring System (PRMS). In addition, she participates in strategic planning activities and implementation of plans for programmatic growth.

Mark Ratain, MD, Leon O. Jacobson Professor of Medicine, is associate director for clinical sciences at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center and leader of the Pharmacology Core Facility.

Dr. Ratain oversees the implementation, organization, and activities of the programs and core facilities that support clinical research. He advises the Comprehensive Cancer Center director on strategic planning and operational and budgetary issues in the area of clinical research. Dr. Ratain also serves as chair of the Clinical Research Advisory Committee (CRAC), which meets quarterly to review operations and policy related to clinical research, including the CCTO and PRMS.

Dr. Ratain’s research interests are in the pharmacogenetics of anticancer agents and Phase I and Phase II drug studies. Pharmacogenetics is the study of how genetic variation among individuals contributes to differences in the way they respond to medicine. Dr. Ratain’s research is focused on the metabolism of specific anticancer agents. He has demonstrated the critical importance of genetic variants in determining variability in the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of certain anticancer drugs. His research has become a model for understanding variability in response to newer targeted drugs.

Susan Cohn, MD, professor of pediatrics, is a highly respected expert in pediatric cancers and blood diseases. She is a leading authority on neuroblastoma, a cancer of nerve cells, and the most common type of cancer found in infants.

Dr. Cohn is actively researching several aspects of neuroblastoma. She is one of the few pediatric oncologists in the United States who is conducting Phase I clinical trials of promising treatments for the disease. Her research has received generous support from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

In recognition of her extensive expertise in pediatric clinical research, Dr. Cohn was selected to be the first section chief of clinical sciences at the University of Chicago Department of Pediatrics.

Since 1990, Dr. Cohn has held several leadership positions in national pediatric cooperative clinical research groups, including serving as chair of the Children’s Oncology Group Neuroblastoma Disease Committee.

A prolific author, Dr. Cohn has published more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, several book chapters, and has co-edited two books. She also is a reviewer for many prominent journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Cancer Research, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

John M. Cunningham, MD, is the Donald N. Pritzker Professor of Pediatrics, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and Physician-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital. Dr. Cunningham is an internationally known expert in the treatment and research of childhood cancers and blood diseases. He has particular expertise in treating leukemia, lymphoma, immunodeficiencies, sickle cell disease and thalassemia. He is a recognized leader in the field of pediatric stem cell transplantation, and has developed novel uses for this life-saving treatment.

An active researcher, Dr. Cunningham is studying the biology and therapy of hemoglobinopathies, hematopoiesis and the leukemia stem cell, transcriptional mechanisms operative during the development of vertebrate organisms, and the development of clinical trials for the treatment of leukemia and genetic diseases. Dr. Cunningham is a member of the scientific council of the American Cancer Society, and a member of the editorial board of The Oncologist.

Dr. Cunningham is an accomplished author and has published more than 70 scientific articles, as well as several book chapters and invited reviews. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and is a reviewer for Blood, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cancer Research, and Genomics. A popular speaker, Dr. Cunningham has lectured at universities and scientific meetings around the world.

Mitchell Posner, MD, is the Thomas D. Jones Professor of Surgery and chief of the Section of General Surgery and Surgical Oncology. With a reputation earned as a leading authority in the management of upper gastrointestinal cancers, Dr. Posner couples his skill as a cancer surgeon with a commitment to multidisciplinary care, providing his patients with optimal outcomes.

Dr. Posner’s work goes beyond the operating room. In the lab, he focuses on the molecular basis of malignancies, which has enabled him to design and guide groundbreaking clinical trials for cancers of the pancreas, esophagus, colon, stomach, rectum, and liver. With more than 30 years of experience, he has won dozens of awards and published 200 articles, abstracts, and book chapters.

He has won the University of Chicago’s Robert J. Baker Award for Excellence in Teaching, as well as the Basic Science and Clinical Research Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology.

Dr. Posner has held several leadership positions during his distinguished career. He is past-president of the Society of Surgical Oncology. He is deputy editor of the Annals of Surgical Oncology. He served as chairman of the Gastrointestinal Committee of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG).

Marsha Rosner, PhD, is the Charles B. Huggins Professor and director of the Department of Neurobiology, Pharmacology and Physiology. Dr. Rosner’s research aims to determine the critical mechanisms that regulate cell growth and differentiation in response to growth factor or oncogenic stimulation, and identify key targets for therapeutic intervention.

Dr. Rosner earned her PhD in biochemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has been a faculty member at the University of Chicago for the past 30 years.

Gina Curry, MPH, MBA, is an experienced community engagement specialist with over 15 years in community engaged academic research. Curry is well versed in community-academic partnership development, program development, training design and delivery, coalition building and multi-institutional collaborations.

Prior to joining the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center, Curry served as the Community Campus Coordinator for Northwestern University’s Community Based Participatory Research Program for 11 years. She was instrumental in brokering more than 500 partnerships, resulting in dozens of community-engaged research projects, scientific manuscripts, as well as Foundation, PCORI and NIH funding. Curry is particularly interested in the intersection of faith and health and has been an active member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) for more than a decade, frequently moderating sessions and presenting in their Faith Caucus, Community Based Public Health Caucus, and Cancer Forum.

Rajan Gopalakrishnan, MS, is the director for informatics and information technology (IT) at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. Gopalakrishnan joined in May 2011 with 16 years of experience in healthcare and public health IT consulting where he worked with several large regional hospital systems and state and public health organizations.

As the director for informatics, Gopalakrishnan is responsible for the design, maintenance, upkeep of all informatics and IT capabilities within the Cancer Center. In addition, he participates in setting future strategy and the roadmap for cancer informatics functions that will provide cutting-edge support for Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers and staff. Gopalakrishnan is a member of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and likes to pursue interesting developments in public health informatics within the cancer domain.

Kathleen Goss, PhD, is the assistant director for administration at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Goss brings her expertise in cancer biology to the communications team in the Cancer Center and enhances the relationships with partnering institutions and cancer organizations. She joined the University of Chicago Department of Surgery faculty in 2007 after postdoctoral training and starting her laboratory at the University of Cincinnati.

Apart from her research program in the molecular events driving colorectal and breast cancer, Dr. Goss has been actively engaged in graduate, medical, and undergraduate education at the University of Chicago and is strongly committed to cancer outreach and advocacy in the community.

Robyn Egan, BA, is the Director for Finance for the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. Egan joined the UCCCC in June 2002 with a background in economics and biological/physical sciences and has over 15 years of specialized experience in biomedical research administration: financial management and budgeting/accounting, grant and contract administration, clinical trial development, initiation, and implementation, regulatory affairs, data management, patient advocacy and preclinical laboratory technology.

Egan oversees all fiscal operations of the Center, including pre- and post-award sponsored research finances of large, complex, multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, multi-investigator program project and center grants (type P01, P30, P50, U10, U54, UG3, SPORE, etc.) as well as non-federal grants, subcontracts, and gift & endowment activity. She manages daily operations in the areas of finance, purchasing, grants, and recharge mechanisms, and directly supervises the Center’s finance team. Egan works in partnership with University Research Administration, Financial Services, Cancer Center members and their departments, and the IT and finance teams to develop comprehensive financial statements and operating budgets.

Amanda Spratt, BS, CCRP, is the director for clinical research operations and technical director of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office (CCTO). She joined the Comprehensive Cancer Center in October 2004. Spratt is responsible for the day-to-day administrative oversight of office operations and staff, including hiring and training of new staff, and developing, updating and overseeing implementation of Standard Operating Procedures for all regulatory services. She serves as a resource to both her staff and clinical investigators in issues of clinical research operations, and federal and institutional regulations, and is responsible for the coordination of continuing education workshops.

Jane Kollmer, BA, is the director for communications at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. As a communicator with more than 15 years of experience, Kollmer is well-versed in marketing strategies that attract and engage audiences through the strategic use of compelling content.

In her role, Kollmer is responsible for elevating the UCCCC’s profile as a leading cancer research institution and raise visibility of and positive affiliation for the UCCCC among members, staff, medical and research communities, news media, and the public. She is also a member of the steering committee for the Public Affairs & Marketing Network (PAMN).