Daniel Persky, MD, a leading physician-scientist in the field of lymphoma translational research, has been named associate director of clinical investigations and director, Clinical Trials Office (CTO), at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Dr. Persky will work closely with UA Cancer Center leadership to enhance clinical and translational research efforts.
A distinguished clinical research specialist, Dr. Persky is an associate professor of medicine at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson. He specializes in hematology/oncology, particularly in lymphoid malignancies, such as lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and others. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, subspecialty of medical oncology, and is a research member of the Therapeutic Development Program at the UA Cancer Center.
“Dr. Persky brings tremendous experience and expertise to this position. His work will allow the UA Cancer Center to deploy innovative initiatives to the clinical trials phase, and that is imperative in our fight to cure cancer,” said UA Cancer Center Director Andrew Kraft, MD.
In addition to his responsibilities overseeing the UACC’s cancer clinical trials, Dr. Persky serves on the Hodgkin Lymphoma subcommittee of the National Cancer Trials Network. In 2010, he received the SWOG/Hope Foundation Coltman Fellowship, a competitive program that funds outstanding young investigators from SWOG member institutions to develop expertise in clinical trials methodology, protocol activation and management. In 2014, he received the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award.
As associate director of clinical investigations, Dr. Persky will partner with the UACC medical director of the oncology service line to ensure that clinical research initiatives are efficiently and effectively integrated with the delivery of clinical services in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Additionally, he plans to work closely with the associate directors of cancer disparities and population sciences at UACC to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in clinical trials and to expand the clinical trials outreach throughout the state. Dr. Persky also serves as principal investigator on two national clinical trials for aggressive lymphoma.
Dr. Persky received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He completed his internship and residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minn., and a three-year fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He joined the UACC in 2006 and is a co-leader of its lymphoma team. At the UACC, Thomas Miller, MD, a renowned lymphoma clinical researcher, served as Dr. Persky’s key mentor.
Media Contact: Cody Cassidy