Andrew S. Kraft, MD, announced as director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center in June 2014 and who took the helm there that September, will step down from his leadership position effective June 30, 2019, according to an announcement today by 
Michael D. Dake, MD, senior vice president, UA Health Sciences.
Look for an announcement about an interim director coming soon.
Currently, Dr. Kraft also is senior associate dean for translational research at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, associate vice president for oncology programs at the UA Health Sciences and the Sydney E. Salmon Endowed Chair at the University of Arizona.
He will continue with the UA as a tenured professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson. In addition, he will assume a leadership role, focusing on the research mission at the UA Cancer Center, and continue to play an integral role in positioning the center for long-term growth and helping to unlock and scale innovation that leads to better treatments and cures for cancer.
As a nationally recognized cancer physician-scientist and administrator, Dr. Kraft has led the successful renewal of the UA Cancer Center Support Grant and the recruitment of several renowned cancer researchers to expand the center’s clinical trials and service areas.
He has significantly influenced the expansion of prevention efforts and funding for the UA Skin Cancer Institute and Native American Cancer Prevention grants, while maintaining an active research laboratory and treating patients with novel protocols in the sarcoma clinic.
“I want to thank Dr. Kraft for his leadership and continued dedication to the University of Arizona,” Dr. Dake said. “He has established a strong foundation for the UA Cancer Center to benefit from many new, extraordinary opportunities to advance cancer research and serve our communities.”
An accomplished prostate cancer researcher and developer of novel cancer drugs, Dr. Kraft came to the UA from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, where he was recruited in 2004 to lead led the Hollings Cancer Center’s efforts to become a National Cancer Institute- (NCI) designated Cancer Center. At MUSC, he also served as associate dean for oncology affairs, was a University Distinguished Professor of medicine and biochemistry and molecular biology, and held the William H. Folk, MD, Chair in Experimental Oncology.
Before that, he was chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and associate director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania, did his internship and residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, and was a research associate and, then, a clinical staff fellow at the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Kraft is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians and American Society of Clinical Investigation. He also is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Hematology and American Society of Biologic Chemists. During his career, he has mentored more than three dozen post-doctoral fellows.
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