CANCER CENTER
New director, $10 million grant for Comprehensive Cancer Center A $10 million grant from the AbbVie
Foundation will support scientific and educational activities at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center under the leadership of Adekunle (Kunle) Odunsi, MD, PhD, the newly appointed director. A portion of the grant will also establish a permanent endowment, which will continuously support the work of the center for years to come. Odunsi, who joined UChicago Medicine in March, will be named the AbbVie Foundation Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also serves as Biological Sciences Division Dean for Oncology and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Chicago. A nationally recognized gynecologic oncologist, Odunsi focuses his research
on understanding the mechanisms of immune recognition and tolerance in ovarian cancer and translating these findings to immunotherapy clinical trials. Odunsi pioneered the development of antigen-specific vaccine therapy and next-generation adoptive T cell immunotherapies to prolong remission rates in women with ovarian cancer. “The AbbVie Foundation’s generous grant will provide our Comprehensive Cancer Center leadership with the resources necessary to advance cancer research and care through the ongoing pursuit of innovative investigation and development of novel cancer therapies that have the potential to improve the lives of people affected by cancer,” said Kenneth S. Polonsky, MD, Dean and Executive Vice
Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD
President for Medical Affairs for the University of Chicago. By supporting the director’s vision, the AbbVie Foundation’s grant will empower Comprehensive Cancer Center leadership to act strategically in key areas, such as establishing cross-campus collaborations, discovering and advancing novel therapies, recruiting new faculty, retaining exceptional fellows, and promoting community outreach and engagement.
N AT I O N A L R E C O G N I T I O N
Six University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division alumni and two postdoctoral researchers were named among “1,000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America” in the Crosstalk Cell Press Blog.
Avery D. Posey, PhD’11
A LU M N I
Christopher Schell, PhD’15
Shana Augustin, PhD’13
Assistant Professor of Evolutionary Biology, University of Washington Tacoma
Postdoctoral Fellow, Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience, National Institutes of Health William E. Browne, AB’94, PhD’03
Assistant Professor of Biology, the University of Miami Sunday Francis, PhD’09
Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Minnesota
uchicagomedicine.org/midway
PHOTO BY ROBERT KOZLOFF
BSD alumni, postdocs among ‘Inspiring Black Scientists’ Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, the University of Pennsylvania Colles Price, SM’03, PhD’15
Research Scientist at Vizgen
P O S T D O C TO R A L RESEARCHERS Tamica Collins, PhD
NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Christopher Schell, PhD’15, studied evolutionary biology at the University of Chicago and is now an assistant professor at the University of Washington Tacoma.
Anthony Williams, PhD
Strunk Family Fellow, Department of Medicine
Read more about Tamica Collins, PhD, on Page 28.
MEDICINE ON THE MIDWAY
SPRING 2021
7
