University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI)

Leadership

Maryann Donovan, PhD, MPH

Dr. Maryann Donovan is the Director (Interim) of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (CEO-UPCI) and the Associate Director for Research Services at University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and. Established in 2004 under the leadership of Dr. Devra Davis the Founding Director, in collaboration with Dr. Donovan, the CEO-UPCI, the first cancer institute-academic medical center-based interdisciplinary program in the world, is focused on improving the scientific understanding linking environmental exposures to adverse health outcomes, providing outreach and education to help reduce exposures and cancer risk, and informing public policy. Dr. Donovan, a cellular and molecular biologist, has spent more than 30 years in academia. In her early research she published the first studies demonstrating that a biological control agent still used commercially today was not toxic to non-target species. Subsequently, as a human molecular geneticist, she studied the molecular regulation of hemoglobin switching, coagulation disorders and breast tumor metastasis. She also co-directed the first cancer molecular diagnostic lab at the University of Pittsburgh/University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, developing and validating assays to improve cancer diagnosis.