Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, Appointed Executive Director of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
June 19 2024 - 2:30PM
Business Wire
Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, a head and neck surgical oncologist,
leading expert in cancer immunotherapy and cancer center chief
executive, has been named the executive director of UNC Lineberger
Comprehensive Cancer Center, and UNC system chief of oncology
services, effective October 1st, announced UNC School of Medicine
Dean Wesley Burks, MD.
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Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, has been named
the executive director of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer
Center, and UNC system chief of oncology services. (Photo: Business
Wire)
Ferris comes to UNC from the University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center (UPMC), where he was the director of the Hillman Cancer
Center. He succeeds Shelley Earp, MD, who served as UNC Lineberger
director twice, 1997-2014 and 2018-2024. Earp announced his intent
to stepdown as director last fall. He will continue as a faculty
member of UNC School of Medicine and the cancer center, to lead his
lab at UNC Lineberger, and service to external organizations,
including as chair of the National Cancer Institute’s Board of
Scientific Advisors.
“Bob Ferris is an exceptional cancer physician-scientist, a
highly skilled health executive with deep experience leading a NCI
comprehensive cancer center, and a person with a genuine passion
for service to others,” said Burks, vice chancellor for medical
affairs at UNC School of Medicine and CEO of UNC Health. “This
blend of skills, experience and vision makes Bob the ideal person
to lead our cancer center and to expand on the leadership successes
of Joe Pagano, Ned Sharpless and Shelley Earp, under whose
direction UNC Lineberger has become one of our country’s great
cancer centers.”
The appointment marks a return to Chapel Hill for Ferris, who
earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry with honors and
distinction from UNC-Chapel Hill. He earned his medical degree and
his PhD in immunology from Johns Hopkins Medical School, where he
also completed his residency, and was chief resident, in
otolaryngology / head and neck surgery.
Ferris has served as director and associate senior vice
chancellor for cancer research at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center since
2017, and senior vice president for oncology programs at UPMC and
associate senior vice chancellor for cancer research at the
University of Pittsburgh starting in 2023. Under his leadership,
UMPC Hillman’s clinical, academic and research faculty and
activities were more closely aligned. This, among other things,
generated a 29% increase in peer-reviewed cancer research funding
($106 million, up from $82 million) and a 53% increase in National
Cancer Institute funding ($48 million, up from $31.2 million). The
center also obtained or renewed three highly sought after NCI
Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) research grants
(in head neck, skin and ovarian cancers) and multiple principal
investigator grants.
Ferris has led a highly productive clinical, translational and
laboratory research enterprise during his tenure at Hillman Cancer
Center, which has led to the founding of two companies and the
publication of more than 450 peer-reviewed scientific papers and
book chapters.
He has been the principal investigator of multiple cancer
immunotherapeutic trials, including several studies investigating
treatment deintensification for HPV+ head and neck cancer after
transoral surgery. He is the principal investigator of the
Specialized Programs of Research Excellence in head and neck
cancer. His translational research has generated fundamental
insights into the mechanisms of anti-tumor immunity in the tumor
microenvironment and tumor cell escape. His lab pioneered studies
demonstrating innate and adaptive immune responses induced by
cetuximab, the EGFR-specific monoclonal antibody, in head and neck
cancer. The team is also investigating immunosuppressive molecules,
including immune checkpoint receptors PD-1, CTLA-4, TIM-3, and
LAG-3.
Ferris also had a longstanding commitment to external service.
He co-chaired the NCI Steering Committee for Head and Neck Cancer
and is the immediate past president of the American Head and Neck
Society. He serves on the external advisory boards for MD Anderson
Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center
and the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center. He also is
editor-in-chief of Oral Oncology and on the editorial board for
Clinical Cancer Research and Cancer Immunology Research.
About UNC Lineberger
The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer
research and treatment center at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. Serving patients at the N.C. Basnight Cancer
Hospital, UNC Lineberger is the only public comprehensive cancer
center in the state of North Carolina.
As one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Centers, UNC Lineberger was rated as
exceptional – the highest category – by the National Cancer
Institute. The center brings together some of the most exceptional
physicians and scientists in the country to investigate and improve
the prevention, early detection and treatment of cancer.
With research that spans the spectrum from the laboratory to the
bedside to the community, UNC Lineberger faculty work to understand
the causes of cancer at the genetic and environmental levels, to
conduct groundbreaking laboratory research, and to translate
findings into pioneering and innovative clinical trials.
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Phil Bridges (919) 457-6347 phil.bridges@unchealth.unc.edu