University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI)

Leadership

Dorothea Becker, PhD

Dr. Becker is a molecular biologist who received her training at The Rockefeller University and Harvard Medical School. Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh in 1991, she held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Becker is a Professor in the Department of Pathology of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The focus of her research is the isolation and functional analysis of genes that govern melanoma progression. In the course of these studies, she has identified bFGF and FGFR-1, STAT3, ATM, and APP as key regulators of the disease. Dr. Becker has organized numerous international meetings, including a Keystone Symposium on Molecular Imaging and Applications to Biology and Medicine, a Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory/Banbury Center Conference on Melanoma, as well as international conferences focusing upon Melanoma and the application of optical imaging. Dr. Becker was also instrumental in forming the Melanoma Research Foundation, and in developing major research tools for the melanoma community, including melanoma and nevus tissue microarrays.

Melanoma Program website: http://melanoma.upmc.com/
Laboratory website: http://beckerlab.upmc.com

John M. Kirkwood, MD

Dr. Kirkwood received his medical degree from Yale University and completed postgraduate work at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Harvard University. In 1986, he joined the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute as Director of the Melanoma Center and Professor and Chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In 1996, he was named Vice Chairman for Clinical Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. For close to 40 years, his research has focused upon the immunobiology of melanoma and the role of antibodies, cytokines, interferons, peptide/protein vaccines, and other agents for therapy of melanoma. He has received international acclaim for leading a multicenter study, developed based upon his pioneering work with biological treatments for melanoma that has provided the first effective adjuvant or postoperative therapy for patients with high-risk melanoma. In addition, Dr. Kirkwood has led the Melanoma Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) for more than 20 years. For the past decade, he has also played an active role in the Melanoma Subcommittee of the American Joint Commission on Cancer in which he co-chairs the Advanced Melanoma working group (AJCC). He is also Co-Chair of the Melanoma Prevention Working Group, and Chair of the International Melanoma Working Group (IMWG).

Melanoma Program website: http://melanoma.upmc.com/
Department website: http://www.dept-med.pitt.edu/hemaonc/faculty_info.aspx?fp=4980