Newswise — Ernest T. Hawk, M.D., M.P.H., has joined The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center as vice president and head of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences (DCPPS).
Hawk, formerly the director of the Office of Centers, Training and Resources in the Office of the Director at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, Md., is trained as a medical oncologist with specialization in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. His tenure at the NCI spanned 11 years and included multiple posts within the organization, including chief of the Gastrointestinal and Other Cancers Research Group in the NCI's Division of Cancer Prevention, medical officer in the Chemoprevention Branch and chair of the Translational Research Working Group.
His personal research interests include the identification and translational development of markers and agents that may detect or prevent cancer and the study of the molecular intersections between cancer and other common diseases of aging, such as cardiovascular disease and cognitive disorders.
"I have a great admiration and respect for Dr. Hawk and know that he will be a tremendous asset to the division and to the entire M. D. Anderson team," says Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., provost and executive vice president of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. "His leadership and vision are critical in continuing and expanding on the division's groundbreaking work accomplished during Dr. Bernard Levin's tenure."
Hawk has been involved in chemoprevention research focused on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and COX-2 inhibitors, and he has earned numerous awards, including the NCI Research Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Prevention. Hawk currently serves as senior editor for Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
"I am extremely excited by the tremendous opportunities in cancer prevention research and clinical practice presented by M. D. Anderson and its leadership," says Hawk. "It is my firm belief that the division has the capacity to emerge as the definitive resource for educating the public and health care professionals about state-of-the-art practices in cancer prevention and the critical role that research plays in its future. I look forward to building upon Dr. Levin's successes, with the division serving as a dynamic training ground for future generations of researchers and practitioners committed to cancer prevention, and to the broader mission of improving and sustaining health."
Hawk succeeds Bernard Levin, M.D., who is retiring after 23 years of distinguished service at M. D. Anderson. Levin founded the DCPPS, which now includes 69 faculty members who oversee more than $24 million in active grants. His years as vice president and division head were productive ones, "punctuated by an impressive expansion of the division's public outreach efforts, the construction of our modern Cancer Prevention Building and significant advances by the stellar faculty and staff he has assembled and guided," says DuBois. Among Levin's many honors is the Charles A. LeMaistre, M.D., Outstanding Achievement Award in Cancer, which he received at M.D. Anderson's 2007 Faculty Honors Convocation.
A native of Detroit, Mich., Hawk earned his bachelor's and medical degrees at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and his master of public health degree at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He completed an internal medicine internship and residency at Emory University, a medical oncology clinical fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, and a cancer prevention fellowship at the NCI.
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