Goals for the AACR
I have a strong passion and commitment to advancing the role of the AACR as the world’s central convener of cancer scientists across disciplines, including enhanced networking and interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities, and as an experienced advocate for robust federal funding support for cancer research. In support of these goals, I bring extensive experience in strategically designing effective mentorship forums and collaborative scientific events, including providing global access through state-of-the-art virtual conferencing; in fostering transdisciplinary collaborations nationally; and in working with federal policymakers to advocate for increased support for cancer research.
Research Interests
Pediatric oncology; epigenetics and epigenomics; molecular biology; translational, clinical, and population science; breast, colon, lung, pancreas, liver, and brain; SWI/SNF (BAF) chromatin remodeling complex; transcriptional regulation; first-in-class targeted epigenetic regulator Tazemetostat.
Current Affiliations
Cancer center director and executive vice president, St. Jude Comprehensive Cancer Center; Lillian R. Cannon Comprehensive Cancer Center director endowed chair; and attending physician, Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee; professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
Previous Positions
Deputy chief scientific officer (2015); scientific director and co-director, Pediatric Solid Tumor Disease Center (2007-2015); and attending physician, Department of Pediatric Oncology (2000-2015), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; lecturer (2015); associate professor (2011-2015); assistant professor (2003-2010); and instructor (2000-2003), pediatrics; and attending physician, Department of Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; attending physician, Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Children’s Hospital Boston (2000-2015), Boston, Massachusetts.
Education
BS, zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, Wisconsin (1988); MD, medicine (1995) and PhD, immunology (1995), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.
Postdoctoral Training
Intern (1995-1996) and resident, pediatrics (1996-1997); and research fellow, molecular oncology (1998-2003), Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts; fellow, pediatric oncology (1997-2000), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.
Selected AACR Service, Honors, and Awards
Member, Steering Committee, Hematologic Malignancies Working Group (2024-present); cochair, Special Conferences Committee (2024-present); cochair (2016-2017, 2023-2024) and member (2007-2008), Annual Meeting Program Committee; member, Pediatric Cancer Working Group Steering Committee (2020-2023); scientific editor, AACR Journal, Cancer Discovery (2020-present); member, Publications Committee (2016-2019); conference cochair, AACR Special Conference: Pediatric Cancer Research—From Basic Science to the Clinic (2017); member, Annual Meeting Education Committee (2016-2017); member, Editorial Board, AACR Journal, Molecular Cancer Research (2015-present); conference co-chairperson, AACR Special Conference: Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer (2015); member, AACR Basic Cancer Research Grants Scientific Review Committee (2014-2016); member, AACR Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Memorial Lectureship Committee (2013-2014); co-chair, AACR Special Conference: Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer (2013); member, AACR-Aflac Inc. Career Development Award for Pediatric Cancer Research (2012-2014).
Selected Non-AACR Service, Honors, and Awards
Member, St. Jude Board of Governors Finance Committee (2022-present); member, St. Jude Board of Governors Membership Committee (2022-2023); lecturer, Plenary talk at the New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT) Annual Meeting (2020); keynote speaker, Genetic Predisposition to Primary CNS Cancers “Think Tank” (2019); elected member, Association of American Physicians (2018); keynote speaker, International Rhabdoid Tumor Meeting, Lake Louise, Canada (2018); recipient, Washington University Medical Center Alumni Association 2017 Alumni Achievement Award (2017); keynote speaker, GTCbio Epigenomics and Novel Therapeutic Targets Conference, Boston, Massachusetts (2015); member, Executive Committee for Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2015); member, St. Jude Board of Governors Executive Committee (2015-present); elected member, American Pediatric Society (2014); keynote speaker, International Meeting on Rhabdoid Tumors: Integrating Biological Insights with Clinical Success, Paris, France (2013); keynote speaker invitee, 15th annual International Symposium on Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2012); elected member, American Society of Clinical Investigation (2010); elected member, Society for Pediatric Research (2007); recipient, Stephen E. Sallan Leadership Award, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2005); recipient, Outstanding Presentation” Award at Children’s Hospital Research Day (2003); honoree, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Washington University (1995).