Research Summary
I am Director, UCSF Pancreas Center and Leader of the UCSF Pancreas Cancer Program. My research career has focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, especially in the area of investigational therapeutics. I was a pioneer in the use of antibody-based therapies and helped develop the fixed dose rate concept for gemcitabine. My group has developed effective gemcitabine combinations and provided a foundation for using CA19-9 as a surrogate for survival in clinical trials, and currently is assessing molecular subtypes and molecular enrichment for selecting new drugs for clinical evaluation. I directed the first GI SPORE devoted to pancreatic cancer when I was on the faculty of the University of Nebraska and subsequently led the NCI-funded U54 Molecular Target Assessment Team at UCSF. I also organized the first Pancreas Cancer Think Tank in 1999 and co-led the NCI sponsored Progress Review Group on Pancreatic Cancer in 2000. I have served as the Chair of the NCCN Guidelines Panel on Pancreatic Cancer since 2000. I also serve as co-chair on the Pancreas Task Force Tissue Acquisition Working Group for the NCI intergroup and co-organized the State of the Science meeting on pancreatic cancer at the NCI.
I have extensive experience in scientific review and administration, training and oversight. I co-directed the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research in Vail for three years and spent nine years of service teaching this course and similar courses in Europe and Australia. I was founding Chair of the NCI Clinical Oncology Study Section (CONC) and served as a member and Chair (two-year term) of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors Subcommittee A. I am on the External Advisory Boards of the Pancreas SPORE at the University of Alabama in Birmingham/University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic.
I am, or have been, on the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Lustgarten Foundation, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the V Foundation, The Alberta Canada Cancer Board and the EORTC. I have held many appointments at AACR and ASCO and served as a member of the ASCO Board of Directors and as ASCO President in 2004. I served as a member of the Oncology Drug Advisory Committee for the FDA from 2007-2011. I served as Deputy Director and Interim Director for the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center until 1999, and Chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at UCSF (2000-2007) and Deputy Director and Director of Research Programs at the HDFCCC from 2000 to 2012.
Research Funding
July 1, 1984 - August 31, 2026 - Buffett Cancer Center Support Grant , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P30CA036727
August 5, 1999 - May 31, 2023 - Cancer Center Support Grant , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P30CA082103
September 15, 2014 - August 31, 2018 - Perioperative Stromal Depletion Strategies in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA184429
September 26, 2001 - December 31, 2008 - Mechanism-Based Evaluations of ErbB-Targeted Agents , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U54CA090788
Education
Creighton University, Omaha, NE, B.S., 1969, Medical Technology
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, M.S., 1974, Clinical Pathology
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, M.D., 1977, Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, Residency, 1980, Internal Medicine
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, Fellowship, 1983, Oncology