Newswise — CLEVELAND – University Hospitals recently announced the recruitment of one of the nation’s leading scientists, Quintin Pan, PhD.

Pan joins University Hospitals as deputy director for research at UH Seidman Cancer Center and professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

He will focus on translational cancer research ranging from novel target identification and drug discovery, to pre-clinical validation and human clinical trials. In particular, his laboratory has elucidated key insights regarding genetic determinants of cancer that provide the foundation for novel therapies to treat aggressive head and neck cancers.

Specifically, his laboratory is working to identify “druggable” genes/targets to help understand function in the context of head and neck cancer development and progression while designing selective inhibitors against the genes as novel anti-cancer therapeutics.

Pan is a recognized leader in cancer research, and was an editorial board member of Cancer Research and currently sits on the editorial board of Oral Oncology. In addition, he served as a member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Head and Neck Cancer Metastatic and Recurrent Disease Task Force from 2011-2017. 

In addition to continuing his own research program, Dr. Pan’s efforts in UH Seidman Cancer Center will focus on enhancing the center’s research portfolio, recruitment and retention of outstanding cancer researchers, and catalyzing collaborative programmatic research efforts.

“Dr. Pan is an outstanding investigator with a sustained track record of contributions to the field of head and neck cancer,” said Daniel Simon, MD, president, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. “Along with his long-standing collaborator and recently appointed president of UH Seidman, Dr. Ted Teknos, he will provide robust leadership to advance the center’s efforts to improve the treatment of cancer patients in our community and world.”

Pan completed his doctorate in pharmacology at the University of Michigan Medical School in 1999. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in translational oncology and subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Michigan Medical School as an Assistant Professor to direct a laboratory in translational research focused on head and neck cancer.

In 2008, Pan was recruited to The Ohio State University Medical Center as associate professor and research director of the head and neck oncology program. In 2016, he was promoted to professor and appointed as the co-director of the translational therapeutics program at the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.  His research is funded by the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, the Sandy Slomin Foundation and the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute.

“UH Seidman Cancer Center is so fortunate to have recruited a scientist of Dr. Pan’s caliber into our cancer program,” said Ted Teknos, MD, president and scientific director - UH Seidman Cancer Center. “His passion for discovery, collaborative spirit and scientific creativity are unparalleled. I look forward to working closely with him and our Case Comprehensive Cancer Center colleagues to set the standard for team science and discovery.”

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About University Hospitals

Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and 200 physician offices in 15 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system’s flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located on a 35-acre campus in Cleveland’s University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including “America’s Best Hospitals” from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with 26,000 employees. Follow UH on Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, go to UHhospitals.org.