Leadership, Planning and Evaluation

PROJECT SUMMARY: Leadership, Planning, and Evaluation Brian Druker, M.D., Center Director Under the leadership of Director Brian Druker, M.D., rigorous planning and evaluation efforts continue to be a critical activity, focused on the growth and development of the Knight Cancer Institute (KCI). Druker shares responsibilities with KCI Senior Leadership composed of Deputy Director Tomasz Beer, M.D.; Strategic Plan Directors Sadik Esener, Ph.D. (Precision Early Detection), Gordon Mills, M.D., Ph.D. (Precision Oncology), and a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (currently vacant); and Associate Directors Mindy Roberts, M.A. (Administration), Shivaani Kummar, M.D. (Clinical and Translational Research), Lisa M. Coussens, Ph.D. (Basic Research), Joe Gray, Ph.D. (Biophysical Oncology), Jackilen Shannon, Ph.D., M.P.H. (Community Outreach and Engagement), Christina Harrington, Ph.D. (Shared Resource Management), and Evan Shereck, M.D., M.Ed. (Cancer Research Training). This group is responsible for 1) establishing and overseeing KCI goals, policies, and operations; 2) fostering scientific discovery through the support of transdisciplinary, translational, and collaborative research; 3) defining, implementing, and evaluating the strategic vision of the KCI; 4) effectively leveraging our considerable resources towards achieving our strategic vision; 5) enlisting the expertise of internal and external advisors to ensure objective evaluation of our progress. Three committees oversee internal governance and daily operations of the KCI, the Scientific Oversight Committee, the Operations Committee, and the Clinical Executive Committee. Together, these committees ensure the successful operation of the KCI from daily operations in research and the clinic to support for advancing scientific discovery in the areas defined in the KCI Strategic Plan. Three external committees provide advice to the KCI, the Community Advisory Board, External Advisory Board, and OHSU Advisory Board. Together, these Boards ensure a bidirectional flow of information between the KCI and the communities we serve, external cancer experts, and OHSU leadership. This ensures alignment with institutional priorities. The KCI Strategic Plan for 2018 through 2022 defines three priority focus areas for our center, 1) we prioritize a Culture of Inclusion and Innovation in our education and training opportunities, our recruitment efforts and extend this to engagement with the communities across our state, 2) Precision Early Detection focuses on understanding the biology of cancer's transition from non-lethal to lethal and using this to establish new ways to precisely detect and treat cancer early, and 3) KCI pioneered Precision Oncology by being the first to target molecular pathogenetic events in cancer, thus establishing the paradigm of what is now referred to as precision medicine; we will continue to advance this work.