MENULeadership
Eric R. Fearon, M.D., Ph.D.
Emanuel N Maisel Professor of Oncology
Director, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
Associate Dean for Cancer Programs, University of Michigan Medical School
Fearon was named director of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center in 2016. He has served as the Emanuel N. Maisel Professor of Oncology and was appointed associate director for basic science research at the Cancer Center in 1995. He also served as deputy director, from 2005-2016.
Fearon has authored more than 135 peer-reviewed research manuscripts and more than 60 review/editorial articles and book chapters. As a professor of internal medicine in Human Genetics and Pathology, he has pursed research in the cancer genetics field, particularly investigations of selected gene defects that underlie colon and rectal tumor development and progression to advanced stages. He has served on the editorial boards of various journals in the cancer biology and human genetics fields and currently is an editorial board member or editor for a number of journals, including The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Current Biology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Gastroenterology and Molecular Cancer Research. In addition, he has served as a member or chair of various National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute advisory groups and grant review committees, including the Panel to Investigate the NIH Investment in Gene Therapy, the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, and the NIH Pathology B and Cancer Genetics Study Sections. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Julie C. Brabbs, MBA, chief administrative officer and associate director of administration
Julie Brabbs joined the University of Michigan Medical School in 2006 and has been dedicated to cancer administrative leadership for 15 years. As the chief administrative officer of the Rogel Cancer Center, Julie oversees a broad team conducting research administration, clinical research, community outreach and engagement, educational initiatives, marketing and communications, patient and family support services, and more. Julie serves on the Rogel Cancer Center leadership teams and partners with the center director and associate directors to lead strategy and planning efforts across the center. Julie also serves on state and national boards, including the Michigan Cancer Consortium and the Cancer Center Administrator’s Forum, as well as numerous committees within Michigan Medicine. Julie is passionate about helping others to discover and build careers are aligned with their strengths, skills and interests.
Andrzej Dlugosz, M.D., associate director for basic science research
Dlugosz is the Poth Professor of Cutaneous Oncology and a professor of dermatology and of cell and developmental biology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He received his medical degree from Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and trained at the University of Pennsylvania and the National Cancer Institute. He joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1997 and currently serves as associate chair for research in the Department of Dermatology. Dlugosz’s research focuses on how alterations in the Hedgehog signaling pathway contribute to cancer initiation, progression and maintenance in tumors arising in the skin and other organs. This work has direct bearing on efforts to target the Hedgehog or interacting signaling pathways for treating certain types of cancer. In more recent studies, he has also been investigating the molecular underpinnings of Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive skin cancer. Dlugosz has received numerous honors and awards, including election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.
Christopher Friese, Ph.D., R.N., associate director for cancer control and population sciences
Friese is the Elizabeth Tone Hosmer Professor of Nursing at the U-M School of Nursing and professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health. He received a bachelor’s and doctorate in nursing from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in cancer control and outcomes at Harvard University/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He has practiced as a staff nurse at leading cancer centers, including the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Rogel Cancer Center. Friese is a national expert in the analyses of claims data to study care quality and has executed large surveys of ambulatory oncology nurses. He leads an interdisciplinary research program to study the quality of care delivered in understudied ambulatory oncology settings from the perspectives of patients and clinicians. In 2018, Friese was appointed to a six-year team on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors.
Sarah Hawley, Ph.D. MPH, associate director for training, education and career development
Hawley is professor of general medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and professor of health management and policy and of health behavior and health education at the School of Public Health. She is also a research investigator at the Ann Arbor VA Center for Clinical Management Research. She received her doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and joined the University of Michigan faculty in 2004. Hawley’s research focuses on evaluating and improving patient centered cancer care across the continuum from screening through treatment and into survivorship, with a focus on vulnerable populations. She is passionate about mentoring junior faculty in cancer control and prevention and serves as primary or co-mentor on several career development awards. She is also an active member of several education and training committees. Hawley is co-leader of the Rogel Cancer Center’s health behavior and outcomes program and co-director of the Center for Health Communications shared resource.
Evan T. Keller, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate director for shared resources
Keller is a professor of urology and pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. He received a doctor of veterinary medicine and master’s of preventive veterinary medicine from the University of California Davis and a doctorate in developmental biology from the University of Wisconsin. Keller directs a National Institutes of Health-funded program project on prostate cancer bone metastasis and is co-director of the Rogel Cancer Center’s Single Cell Analysis Shared Resource. Using a combination of molecular, cellular and animal studies as well clinical trials, his lab explores genes that regulate metastasis and the interaction between the host microenvironment and cancer cells. He is using single cell RNA-Seq to identify rare cell populations and promote precision medicine. Keller has more than 200 publications in aging, cytokines, bone metastasis and prostate cancer biology and sits on several foundations, editorial boards, and NIH and Department of Defense peer review panels.
Bhramar Mukherjee, Ph.D., associate director for quantitative data sciences
Mukherjee is the John D. Kalbfleisch Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics, chair of biostatistics and professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Mukherjee completed her doctorate in statistics at Purdue University and joined the U-M faculty in 2006. Her principal research interests lie in the intersection of genetic and environmental epidemiology. Cancer research interests include penetrance estimation in high-risk cancer families, studies of gene-environment interaction, characterizing and distinguishing molecular sub-types of cancer and joint analysis of electronic health records and genomics data with a focus on cancer outcomes. She has received numerous honors and awards, including fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the Gertrude Cox award for outstanding contribution to biostatistics by a mid-career investigator and the 2020 Adrienne Cupples award for outstanding contribution towards teaching, research and service to biostatistics by the Boston University School of Public Health. She has co-authored more than 230 publications in statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health and cancer.
Erika Newman, M.D., associate director for diversity, equity, inclusion and justice
Newman is associate professor of pediatric surgery at Michigan Medicine. She received her medical degree from Georgetown University in 2001, and completed general surgery training at U-M and fellowship training at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital before joining the faculty at U-M in 2010. Newman serves as surgical director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital’s solid tumor oncology program and runs a basic-science research lab focused on understanding tumor-specific DNA repair mechanisms as novel therapeutic options for pediatric neuroblastoma. She has a longstanding involvement in diversity and equity efforts at U-M, both in the Department of Surgery and in her role as associate chief clinical officer for health equity for the University of Michigan Medical Group — as well as within the broader community. Newman was also the recipient of a Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award in recognition of her work and leadership in the area of cultural diversity.
Ken Resnicow, Ph.D., associate director for Community Outreach, Engagement & Health Disparities
Resnicow is the Irwin M. Rosenstock Collegiate Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at the U-M School of Public Health. He received his doctorate degree in health psychology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Resnicow’s research interests include the design and evaluation of cancer prevention for special populations, such as African Americans. He is interested in understanding the relationship between ethnicity and health behavior. Programs he has developed in this effort include Healthy Body Healthy Spirit, GO GIRLS and a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society to share proven cancer control interventions using lay health advisers.
Anne Schott, M.D., associate director for clinical research
Schott is a clinical professor of hematology/oncology at the University of Michigan Medical School. She received her medical degree from the University of South Alabama and completed a fellowship at the University of Michigan, joining the faculty in 1996. Schott treats patients with breast cancer and is an active clinical trialist, working with laboratory researchers to translate and test potential novel treatments in patients with breast cancer. She serves as a principal investigator on multiple clinical trials. An active member of the National Clinical Trials Network, Schott previously served as deputy chair of SWOG and vice chair of NCTN Research in SWOG.