El-Deiry named as American Cancer Society Research Professor

Abstract

Wafik S. El-Deiry, MD PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Biology and Therapy, has been appointed as an American Cancer Society Research Professor, the first such appointment at the University of Pennsylvania, effective January 1, 2009.  The American Cancer Society Research Professorships are the most competitive and prestigious research grants awarded by the Society. Dr. El-Deiry is a Professor of Medicine, Genetics & Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, co-Program Leader of the Radiation Biology & Imaging Program at the Abramson Cancer Center and Associate Director for Physician-Scientist training in Hematology/Oncology. He is investigating mechanisms of therapeutic resistance to TRAIL in cancer, and with his colleagues conducting the first phase I/II clinical trials in patients with cancer to evaluate the safety/efficacy of combining two drugs, sorafenib & mapatumumab, a TRAIL receptor targeted therapeutic antibody. Dr. El-Deiry is a highly cited author, widely recognized for elucidating fundamental mechanisms of cell death and tumor suppression and in developing novel therapeutic strategies to restore death pathways in cancer. He enjoys teaching, clinical work, serving on grant review panels, editorial boards and training future scientists and clinicians.

Dr. El-Deiry is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, The American Association for Cancer Research, the American Academy of Nanomedicine, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Interurban Clinical Club. In 2008, he became a member of the Association of American Physicians and was cited as one of "America's Top Oncologists" by the Consumers' Research Council of America.