Dr. Shull accepts post in Wisconsin

James Shull, Ph.D.

James Shull, Ph.D., professor and chairman of UNMC’s Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, has been named chairman of the Department of Oncology/McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The appointment is effective Sept. 1.

In accepting the post at Wisconsin, Dr. Shull will return to the university where he earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1984 and where he did a three-year oncology fellowship from 1984 to 1987.

“I have loved working at UNMC these past 22 years, and it is very difficult for me to leave,” he said. “However, this was an outstanding opportunity that I simply couldn’t pass up.”

Dr. Shull, whose research focuses on the basic mechanisms of breast cancer, said Wisconsin is “one of the premier cancer research centers in the country.” UNMC’s Eppley Institute was modeled after the McArdle Laboratory, he said.

Dr. Shull’s file Hometown: Chapman, Neb. Education: Undergraduate and master’s degrees, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison. UNMC positions: Assistant professor, Eppley Institute, 1987-1993; Associate professor, 1993-1999; Leader of the Eppley Cancer Center Molecular and Biochemical Etiology Program, 1996-2009; Professor, 1999-2003; Ardith and Anna Von Housen Professor and chairman of the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, 2003-2009; Director of Center for Molecular Genetics and Genomics, 2006-2009.

Dr. Shull also will serve as associate director for basic research within Wisconsin’s Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. The comprehensive cancer designation is the highest level of cancer center in the country as deemed by the National Cancer Institute.

“We wish Jim all the best in Wisconsin,” said John Gollan, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Medicine. “He has done a wonderful job throughout his long career at UNMC. He will greatly be missed from both the personal and professional point of view.”

These sentiments were echoed by Ken Cowan, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center.

“Jim is an outstanding scientist and we will greatly miss his leadership,” he said. “I congratulate Jim on this exciting opportunity, as well as thank him for his many years of dedication to UNMC and the Eppley Cancer Center.”

The McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research was established in 1940 as one of the nation’s first basic-science research laboratories focused on cancer. One of the lab’s researchers, the late Howard Temin, Ph.D., won a Nobel Prize in 1975.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jim back to UW-Madison and McArdle,” said UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden, M.D., in a news release. “The Department of Oncology has a remarkably rich tradition of academic excellence and is a lustrous jewel in the crown of our school and university.

“Jim is extremely well suited to lead it forward into the future.”

Dr. Gollan said he expects to name an interim chairperson in the near future.