A 35-member committee has been formed to begin a national search for a new director of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center and the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer.
Bradley Britigan, M.D., dean of the UNMC College of Medicine, and Michael Yanney, chairman emeritus of Burlington Capital and longtime supporter of UNMC, will co-chair the search committee, which includes representation from the medical center, community, and three national cancer centers.
The search committee is charged with finding a successor to Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., who will step down from his roles at the end of June. Dr. Cowan, who joined the medical center in 1999, will remain as a full-time faculty member and continue to see patients.
In addition to Drs. Britigan and Yanney, the search committee members include:
- Michael Ash, M.D., vice president and chief transformation officer for Nebraska Medicine and vice chancellor for information & technology for UNMC
- Vimla Band, Ph.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy
- Bob Bartee, vice chancellor for external affairs, UNMC
- Surinder Batra, Ph.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- Dele Davies, M.D., senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of graduate studies
- Charles Enke, M.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Radiation Oncology
- Doug Ewald, vice chancellor for business and finance, UNMC/UNO
- Theresa Franco, vice president-operations, executive offices, Nebraska Medicine
- Harris Frankel, M.D., chief medical officer for Nebraska Medicine
- Krysten Vance, graduate student fellow at the Eppley Institute
- Jennifer Larsen, M.D., vice chancellor for research, UNMC
- Deborah Levy, Ph.D., chair, UNMC College of Public Health Department of Epidemiology
- Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute, UNMC
- Juliann Sebastian, Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing
- Carl Smith, M.D., chair of the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and chief academic officer for Nebraska Medicine
- Sarah Thayer, M.D., Ph.D., associate director for clinical affairs and physician-in-chief, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center; Merle M. Musselman Centennial Professor of Surgery; and chief of the UNMC Division of Surgical Oncology
- Julie Vose, M.D., Neumann M. and Mildred E. Harris Professor, chief, UNMC Division of Hematology/Oncology
- Aileen Warren, assistant vice chancellor for human resources, UNMC
- Amy Volk, senior vice president for UNMC development and chief development officer for Nebraska Medicine
- Corrine Hanson, Ph.D., associate professor, medical nutritional education, UNMC
- Donald Durden, M.D., Ph.D., professor, UNMC Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology; chief of the division of computational chemistry and innovative therapeutics; associate director for pediatric oncology research at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center
- Tony Hollingsworth, Ph.D., professor, Eppley Institute, UNMC
- I. David Goldman, M.D., director, Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Bronx, NY
- Stephen Nimer, M.D., director, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System
- Douglas Yee, M.D., director, Masonic Cancer Care, University of Minnesota
- Kae Pavlik, founder of the Cattlemen’s Ball and member of the cancer center’s Advocates Board of Directors
- Robert Krohn, funds the Robert & Myrna Krohn Chair in the Eppley Institute, an endowed position currently held by Dr. Cowan
- Ashli Brehm, breast cancer survivor
- Anne Bowen, senior assistant to the chancellor, UNMC
- Brad Hall, M.D., house officer, surgery, UNMC
- Jim McClurg, Ph.D., Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors
- Keith Olsen, Pharm.D., dean, College of Pharmacy, UNMC
- Janet Guthmiller, D.D.S., Ph.D., dean, College of Dentistry, UNMC
The search committee held an organizational meeting in early December. Their next steps include formalizing a job description, selecting a national search firm and creating a website related to the job search.