Search committee to find next cancer center leader

Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD, and Chris Kratochvil, MD

A committee has been formed at UNMC to begin a national search for a new director of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center and the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer.

The search committee will be led by co-chairs Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD, executive director of the Child Health Research Institute and professor and chief of neonatology for the UNMC College of Medicine, and Chris Kratochvil, MD, associate vice chancellor of clinical research at UNMC and vice president of clinical research for Nebraska Medicine. The search committee includes representation from across the medical center and the broader cancer center community.

The search committee is charged with finding a successor to Ken Cowan, MD, PhD, who will step down from his roles but remain a full-time faculty member and continue to see patients. Dr. Cowan joined the medical center in 1999 and, in 2021, led the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center to a successful renewal of its National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant.

In addition to Drs. Anderson Berry and Kratochvil, the search committee includes:

  • Michael Ash, MD, executive vice president–chief operating officer, Nebraska Medicine; vice chancellor for information and technology, UNMC
  • Vimla Band, PhD, chair of genetics, cell biology and anatomy, UNMC College of Medicine
  • Anne Barnes, vice chancellor for business, finance and business development, UNMC
  • Surinder Batra, PhD, chair and professor, biochemistry and molecular biology, UNMC College of Medicine; associate director, translational research, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center
  • Chuck Baum, vice chairman, Cattlemen’s Ball Board of Directors (replaces Jeff Marshall, chairman, Cattlemen’s Ball Board of Directors) 
  • Ken Bayles, PhD, vice chancellor of research, UNMC; professor, pathology and microbiology, UNMC College of Medicine
  • Laura Bilek PhD, associate dean for research, UNMC College of Allied Health Professions
  • Jennifer Black, PhD, professor, Eppley Institute for Cancer Research; co-leader, gastrointestinal cancer research program, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center
  • Brad Britigan, MD, dean and professor, UNMC College of Medicine
  • Sarah Gloden Carlson, assistant vice chancellor for human resources, UNMC
  • Dele Davies, MD, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, UNMC
  • Charles Enke, MD, chair and professor, radiation oncology, UNMC College of Medicine
  • Harris Frankel, MD, chief medical officer, Nebraska Medicine; associate professor, neurological sciences, UNMC College of Medicine
  • David Goldman, MD, director, Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Bronx, New York; chair, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center External Advisory Board
  • Sunil Hingorani, MD, PhD, director, Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence; UNMC Nancy Armitage Pancreas Cancer Presidential Chair and professor oncology/hematology, UNMC College of Medicine
  • Joseph Khoury, MD, chair and Stokes-Shackleford Professor Pathology and Microbiology, UNMC College of Medicine
  • Robin Lally, PhD, professor, UNMC College of Nursing (replaces Michele Balas, PhD, associate dean research, Dorothy Hodges Olson Chair, UNMC College of Nursing)
  • Quan Ly, MD, professor, surgical oncology, UNMC College of Medicine; associate director, diversity, equity and inclusion, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center
  • Joshua Mammen, MD, PhD, Merle M. Musselman Centennial Professor of Surgery; chief surgical oncology, UNMC College of Medicine
  • Karoly Mirnics, MD, PhD, director, UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute
  • Keith Olsen, PharmD, dean and professor, UNMC College of Pharmacy
  • Ed Peters, DMD, ScD, chair and professor, epidemiology, UNMC College of Public Health
  • Donna Polk, PhD, CEO, Urban Indian Health Coalition; patient/community advocate and breast cancer survivor
  • Kyle Skiermont, PharmD, vice president of pharmacy and therapeutics, Nebraska Medicine; assistant dean for clinical affairs, UNMC College of Pharmacy
  • Audrey Smith, graduate student, Eppley Institute for Cancer Research, UNMC
  • Sheritta Strong, MD, assistant vice chancellor of inclusion, UNMC
  • Julie Vose, MD, professor and chief hematology/oncology, UNMC
  • Amy Volk, senior vice president, UNMC development, University of Nebraska Foundation; chief development officer, Nebraska Medicine
  • Jim Wahl, professor and associate dean research, UNMC College of Dentistry
  • Matthew Winfrey, associate director administration and external affairs, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center and Eppley Institute for Cancer Research, UNMC
  • Michael Yanney, chairman emeritus, Burlington Capital
  • Anne Bowen Fischer, senior assistant to the chancellor, UNMC

The search committee will begin meeting in early November to formalize a position description, identify a national search firm and discuss next steps.

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