Sweasy Selected as AACI President-Elect

Newswise — Joann B. Sweasy, PhD, director of the University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC), has been elected by the members of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) to serve as vice president/president-elect of AACI’s Board of Directors.

Three new board members were also chosen: Edward Chu, MD, MMS; Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD; and Yolanda Sanchez, PhD. They will replace outgoing board members Roy A. Jensen, MD, and Cornelia Ulrich, MS, PhD. Dr. Sweasy is also finishing her term as a regular board member.

Dr. Sweasy was appointed UACC director in 2020 and recently led the center to redesignation as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining UACC, she served as the associate director for basic sciences and co-leader of the Radiobiology and Radiotherapy Program at the Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Sweasy is an internationally recognized expert in the genetics, cell biology, and biochemistry of DNA repair, and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1994. She was appointed to AACI’s board in 2021.

Dr. Chu is director of the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center, leading its recent successful renewal of designation as an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Chu has had a distinguished career as a physician-scientist, clinical investigator, educator, and mentor. He is an international expert in investigating the mechanisms of cellular resistance to the fluoropyrimidines and antimetabolites, and has also played a leading role in cancer drug development and early-phase clinical trials focused on colorectal cancer and other GI cancers. He began his academic career at the NCI in 1990 and has held leadership positions at Yale Cancer Center and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

Dr. DuBois is director of Hollings Cancer Center and associate provost for cancer programs at the Medical University of South Carolina. His research has made significant contributions to understanding the role of inflammation and inflammatory mediators in the progression of colon cancer and other gastrointestinal malignancies. Among his many awards and honors, he was inducted as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2019 and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Royal College of Physicians (London).

Dr. Sanchez is director and CEO of the University of New Mexico (UNM) Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is an international expert in DNA damage response pathways and her work focuses on exploring oncology targets and drug development for clinical trials. Throughout her career, Dr. Sanchez has prioritized collaboration across basic science, population science, and clinical research, and mentored trainees and junior faculty to help them develop successful research careers.

The new board members will begin their terms and Dr. Sweasy will start in her role as vice president/president-elect in October, during the 2023 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.