U of A Health Sciences names new director of U of A Cancer Center

The University of Arizona Cancer Center (Photo by Joshua Elz, U of A Cancer Center)

The new leader of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, will begin his duties as the Nancy C. and Craig M. Berge Endowed Chair for the Director of the U of A Cancer Center on March 1.

He’ll oversee the scientific and administrative operations of the Cancer Center, which includes the Ginny L. Clements Breast Cancer Research Institute and the Skin Cancer Institute. The latter is the model for comprehensive skin cancer outreach, education, research and clinical care in Arizona.

Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, will take the helm of the University of Arizona Cancer Center on March 1. (Photo courtesy of Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD)

A pioneering leader in bladder cancer research, Dr. Theodorescu will be a tenured professor in the Department of Urology at the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson. His cutting-edge application of computational biology led to the discovery of genes that drive bladder and other cancers while providing novel biomarkers, therapeutic targets and the foundations for personalized treatments, such as the new Molecular Twin artificial intelligence-based precision oncology platform.

The center has been led since September 2023 by a triumvirate from the Department of Medicine including Juanita Merchant, MD, PhD (the center’s interim director), chief, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and the center’s associate director for basic sciences; Rachna Shroff, MD, MS (the center’s interim clinical affairs director), chief, Division of Hematology & Oncology, and the center’s associate director of clinical investigations; and Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, MD (the center’s interim research director), chief, Division of Dermatology, and co-director, Skin Cancer Institute. 

Dr. Theodorescu comes to the U of A Health Sciences from Los Angeles, where he has been the director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center since 2018. At Cedars-Sinai, Theodorescu and his team significantly grew the institute’s grant portfolio, led several new initiatives including two strategic plans, and recruited more than 70 researchers and clinicians in cancer.

From 2010 to 2018, he was the director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, a statewide consortium for which he secured new state legislative funding for cancer research. Under his leadership, the center was elected to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and Oncology Research Information Exchange Network.

He has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, the American Surgical Association and the National Academy of Medicine. He’s a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the founding co-editor of Bladder Cancer, the first journal focused on this disease.

Dr. Theodorescu received his medical degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and completed a residency in urology at the University of Toronto, where he also earned his doctorate. He completed his fellowship in urologic oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

READ MORE AT HEALTHSCIENCES.ARIZONA.EDU!

Original message from Michael D. Dake, MD, Senior Vice President, U of A Health Sciences.

A version of this story also appears on the U of A Cancer Center website.

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