VISION STATEMENT
The American Association for Cancer Research was founded on the promise that scientific research leads to discoveries that help patients, a mission more important today than ever before. Cancer impacts too many individuals and remains a leading cause of death, yet the cancer death rate in many countries has dropped more than 1% per year for the last 30 years. These statistics represent millions of lives saved and breathtaking progress connected directly to the cascade of discoveries in cancer research during this time. Research, and researchers, have revealed new paradigms in tumor biology, shown the unprecedented power of new medicines such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy, and emphasized the population-level impact of prevention. AACR members have led so many of these accomplishments. The opportunity before AACR now is: With its resources and track record, what more can AACR do? What more must it do?
AACR drives discovery science. “Research” is in its name. AACR is at its best when it fosters mechanisms of communication and catalyzes research collaborations. The AACR ecosystem of cancer researchers is unique and storied, especially its embrace and support of the next generation of researchers. As a large organization with international reach, AACR functions without bias to institutions, disciplines, and approaches. It seeks the best science, the newest discoveries, giving AACR a leading voice for cancer research with an enduring commitment. Its Annual Meeting and focused scientific conferences are cherished because they foster conversation and collaboration around new ideas. Its 10 peer-reviewed publications are special because they host the presentation of discoveries, supported with experimental evidence in a way that welcomes debate, changes in ideas, or reinforcement of directions.
This platform allows AACR to boldly leverage its credibility to garner support for cancer research as broadly as possible: in lab meetings, classrooms, board rooms, community centers, and halls of government. The message is clear: Science improves and saves lives. Certainly, for cancer, we have only just begun to see the full power of discovery science. As new approaches and concepts emerge—from artificial intelligence to spatial transcriptomics to cancer interception and so much more—we understand that now is the time to accelerate and double down. Now is the time to bring the full force of 61,000 members of AACR—and all their talent, passion, and drive—to the cause and meaningfully change what it means for patients to hear, “You have cancer.” What a privilege and honor it would be to serve as your AACR president.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Cancer immunology, tumor microenvironment, myeloid cells, T-cell responses; cancer interception, immunotherapy; pancreatic and breast cancer; genetically engineered mouse models of cancer; immune mechanisms of RAS inhibition; phase 1 trials and phase 2 clinical trial platforms of immunotherapy and gene therapy; CD40, GM-CSF, Cox2, KRAS; cancer center administration, health system leadership, and national collaboratives.
CURRENT AFFILIATIONS
Director, Abramson Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; vice president, cancer programs, Penn Medicine Princeton Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; vice dean, cancer programs, faculty member, immunology, and faculty member, cell and molecular biology, and professor, medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; president and investigator, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute; attending physician, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
Director, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute (2017-2021), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; codirector, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, University of Pennsylvania (2016-2017), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; vice chief, research, hematology-oncology division, Perelman School of Medicine (2014-2017), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; director, Penn Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania (2014-2017), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; associate director, translational research, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania (2011-2017), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; program coleader, immunobiology program, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania (2008-2011), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; associate investigator, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute (2008-2014), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; attending physician, VA Medical Center (2005-2017); attending physician, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (2004-2008), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; assistant investigator, Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute (2001-2008), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; associate physician, medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (1999-2001), Boston, Massachusetts.
EDUCATION
MD, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts (1993); DPhil, immunology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom (1989); BSc, chemical engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana (1985).
POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING
Fellow, hematology/oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (1996-1999); resident (1994-1996) and intern (1993-1994), medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
SELECTED AACR SERVICE, HONORS, AND AWARDS
Fellow, AACR Academy (2025); cochair, AACR-Cancer Vaccine Consortium Cancer Vaccine Think Tank (2025); chair, AACR Trailblazer Cancer Research Grants Committee (2025); chair, AACR Lifetime Achievement Award in Cancer Research selection committee (2024); chair (2023) and cochair (2015), Annual Meeting Program Committee (2023); cochair, Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer (2022, 2021 (virtual), 2016); member, Board of Directors (2022-2025); keynote speaker, “A case for priming, not checkpoint”, AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology (virtual) (2020); member, AACR-MPM Transformative Cancer Research Grants Scientific Review Committee (2019-2020); member, Science Policy and Government Affairs Committee (2018-present); cochair, Special Conference on Tumor Immunology (2016); member, editorial board, Cancer Discovery (2014-present); chair (2013-2014), chair-elect (2012), and member (2006-present), Cancer Immunology (CIMM) Working Group; member, AACR-Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology Committee (2012-2013); chair, PanCAN-AACR Pancreatic Cancer Research Grants Scientific Review Committee (2012-2014); deputy editor, Cancer Immunology Research (2012-present); member, Publications Committee (2011-2014); member, AACR Cancer Progress Report Writing Committee (2011); member, editorial board, Cancer Research (2009-2012); member, Clinical and Translational Cancer Research Grants Scientific Review Committee (2007-2014); member, editorial board, Clinical Cancer Research (2003-2014).
SELECTED NON-AACR SERVICE, HONORS, AND AWARDS
Elected member, National Academy of Medicine (2023); member, scientific advisory board, Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (2023-present); member, scientific advisory board, Dana Farber Harvard Cancer Center (2022-present); elected member, board of directors (2021-2024), member, Annual Meeting Program Committee (2021), and program speaker (2025), American Association of Cancer Institutes; member, board of directors, Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) (2021-2024); chair, scientific advisory board, Moffitt Cancer Center (2020-present); chair, scientific advisory board, Yale Cancer Center (2020-present); member, translational advisory group, Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer (2020-present); member, scientific advisory board, University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center (2020-present); member (2018-2024) and member, search committee (2024), NCI Board of Scientific Advisors; member, board of directors (2018-present) and chair, Cancer Center Directors’ Committee (2022-present), National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN); member, scientific advisory board, Case Western Comprehensive Cancer Center (2017-present); member, scientific advisory board, Dartmouth Norris Cotton Cancer Center (2017-present); cochair, scientific advisory board, University of Pittsburgh Hillman Cancer Institute (2017-present); recipient, DuPont Guerry Award for Outstanding Mentorship, Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (2016); member, scientific advisory board, New York University Langone Medical Center, Perlmutter Cancer Center (2016-present); elected councilor (2015-2017) and elected member (2007-present), American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI); member, scientific advisory board, Cancer Research Institute (2014-present); member, scientific advisory board, University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (2014-present); elected member, Association of American Physicians (AAP) (2013); recipient, William Osler Patient Oriented Research Award, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (2012); member, Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network, National Cancer Institute (2010-2021); member, Immunotherapy Task Force, Investigation Drug Steering Committee, National Cancer Institute (2009-2014).