The OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is an international leader in cancer research and personalized cancer treatment. With the mission of ending cancer as we know it, the Knight Cancer Institute continues to build its scientific and clinical leadership and cancer treatment resources. Every year, the institute treats about 6,000 patients and conducts about 1,400 research projects, including more than 400 clinical trials. Public support — including from the State of Oregon and private philanthropy — has provided crucial resources to advance its progress.
OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Director, Brian Druker, M.D.
Brian Druker, M.D., is the director of the Knight Cancer Institute. Druker helped usher in an era of personalized cancer medicine with his discovery that cancer cells could be shut down by disabling the molecules that drive their growth without harming healthy cells. The drug that resulted from that research, Gleevec®, revolutionized how cancer is treated. It also inspired a new wave of exploration of treatments that target cancer-causing molecules.
OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Deputy Directors Shivaani Kummar, M.D., and Lisa Coussens, Ph.D.
Shivaani Kummar, M.D., and Lisa Coussens, Ph.D., are deputy directors of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.
Dr. Kummar leads the division of hematology & medical oncology in the OHSU School of Medicine, co-directs the institute’s Center for Experimental Therapeutics, and oversees clinical and translational research.
Dr. Coussens is the chairwoman of the Department of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology, associate director for basic research in the Knight Cancer Institute and oversees the institute’s operations for basic and translational research.
Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center (CEDAR)
CEDAR, Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center, led by Sadik Esener, Ph.D., is the first large-scale early cancer detection program of its kind. The center's unique scientific research model is team-based, tackling problems from different angles to come up with creative solutions to cancer's biggest challenges.
Precision Oncology
One of the most highly cited scientists in the world, Gordon Mills, M.D., Ph.D., leads the institute’s efforts in precision oncology. Mills believes we are at an “inflection point” in changing the whole outcome for cancer patients, and sees his role as the director of the Precision Oncology program to be an integrative force across various efforts in progress at the institute, including the SMMART Cancer Clinical Trials.
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