Cancer Center Leaders Elected to AACI Board of Directors

Newswise — Mark Evers, MD, FACS; Kelvin Lee, MD; and Thomas A. Sellers, PhD, MPH, have been elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI). The new board members will begin their two-year terms in October, during the 2024 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Chicago. They will replace outgoing board members Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD; Ruben A. Mesa, MD, FACP; and Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, DPhil.

A surgical oncologist, cancer researcher, educator, and administrator, Dr. B. Mark Evers is the director of the University of Kentucky (UK) Markey Cancer Center, physician-in-chief of the Oncology Service Line, and associate vice president for oncology research and strategic development. Under his leadership, UK Markey achieved National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation in 2013 and Comprehensive status with its recent renewal in 2023. The Evers laboratory is focused on signaling pathways regulating proliferation of both normal and neoplastic intestine. Dr. Evers served on AACI’s Annual Meeting Program Committee in 2018.

Dr. Kelvin Lee became the third director of the Indiana University (IU) Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center in 2021, succeeding Patrick J. Loehrer, Sr., MD. Dr. Lee is the HH Gregg Professor of Oncology, associate dean for cancer research in the IU School of Medicine, and the system oncology medical director for IU Health. He is nationally recognized for his work in immunology and multiple myeloma. In addition to his laboratory research, Dr. Lee maintains an active clinical practice where he regularly sees multiple myeloma patients. Dr. Lee served on the AACI Annual Meeting Program Committee in 2023 and is chair of the 2024 committee.

Dr. Thomas A. Sellers has served in a variety of leadership roles at the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, and Moffitt Cancer Center, and is now director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. His research is focused on identifying inherited and modifiable risk factors for ovarian, breast, and prostate cancers and mammographic breast density. Dr. Sellers served on the AACI Board of Directors from 2014-2017 and on AACI’s Annual Meeting Program Committee in 2017 and 2018. 

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AACI’s mission is to accelerate progress against cancer by enhancing the impact of North America’s leading academic cancer centers and promoting cancer health equity. For more information, please visit aaci-cancer.org.