MUSC College of Medicine Dean Raymond N. DuBois named to additional leadership role as Director, MUSC Hollings Cancer Center

CHARLESTON, S.C. (July 24, 2020) – MUSC President David J. Cole, M.D., FACS, has announced the appointment of MUSC College of Medicine Dean Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., to the additional role as director for the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Dean DuBois, an international leader in the cancer community, has led the College of Medicine for more than four years. He will assume the added leadership responsibilities effective August 17. Hollings is the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in South Carolina. 

“Dean DuBois is a nationally recognized oncology leader with an outstanding reputation in cancer research both across the country and internationally,” Cole said. “He is a highly respected leader at MUSC and has been a senior leader at two previous cancer centers, Vanderbilt and MD Anderson. He understands the operation of a cancer center and knows what it takes to be successful. With dual training as an M.D. and Ph.D. researcher, he commands the insight and experience required to fully support both the clinical and academic missions of the Hollings Cancer Center,” he added.

DuBois brings more than 30 years of research experience to his new role at Hollings along with more than 20 years of concurrent experience in leadership at nationally renowned academic health systems. An MUSC Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019, which places him in the company of an elite group of internationally renowned scientists and doctors, including members who are Nobel laureates. With only 75 members elected each year across a broad range of medical disciplines, becoming part of the 50-year-old organization is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. He is also a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

“Ray is a great choice for the Director of the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston,” said Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless, M.D., Director, National Cancer Institute (NCI). “I have worked with him closely during his service as chair of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors and as a member of the Frederick National Laboratory Advisory Committee. He recognizes and promotes research excellence, has a proven track record, and strongly supports patient-centered cancer care. He will certainly elevate the Hollings Cancer Center as well as the whole cancer effort in the State of South Carolina.”

DuBois currently serves as chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Cancer Institute (Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology) and on the Scientific Advisory Board for the NCI Frederick National Laboratory. He is vice chair for the Stand Up To Cancer ® (SU2C) Scientific Advisory Board and currently serves as chair of the SU2C Catalyst Program, where he oversees the selection and management of several early phase clinical cancer trials examining unique drug combinations in collaboration with the leadership from BMS, Genentech and Merck.

“We anticipate that Dean DuBois’ dual leadership roles will intentionally create a strong synergy between Hollings Cancer Center and the College of Medicine,” said Lisa K. Saladin, PT, Ph.D., executive vice president for Academic Affairs and provost. “The excellent, collaborative teams already in place in both the College of Medicine and Hollings Cancer Center are sure to enhance Ray’s ability to perform in these dual roles. Building a more integrated connection between Hollings and the College of Medicine is critical to realize optimal success and propel Hollings forward.” 

Prior to being named dean of the MUSC College of Medicine in March 2016, DuBois served as executive director of the Biodesign Institute in Arizona (ASU) and as the Dalton Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry with a joint appointment as professor of Medicine in the Mayo College of Medicine and Investigator at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center. From 2007 to 2012, he served as provost and executive vice president at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and held the Ellen Knisely Distinguished Chair in Colon Cancer Research.

During his tenure at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (1991-2007), he served as director of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition as well as director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He also was selected to hold three successive endowed chairs at Vanderbilt including the Mina Cobb Wallace Chair, the Hortense B. Ingram Chair and the Benjamin F. Byrd Chair. In 2015, DuBois was honored at Vanderbilt by inclusion as an honorary member in the Tinsley Harrison Society at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

DuBois is known for his research elucidating the role of inflammation and inflammatory mediators in the progression of cancer. His work and other studies led to a better understanding of the role of anti-inflammatory agents, like aspirin, in reducing cancer risk which led to clinical trials, showing how drugs that inhibit this pathway could prevent or intercept the process of cancer development.

He currently serves as president of the AACR Foundation, Chair of the AACR Foundation Board and is a past president of AACR, the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, and the International Society for Gastrointestinal Cancer.  He was namedto the steering committee for the AACR Academy in 2018.

In 2019, he was awarded the AACR Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research. Other major awards for his cancer research include the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Research Award, the Dorothy P. Landon-AACR Cancer Prize and the Anthony Dipple Carcinogenesis Award.

He is also a Fellow in the Royal College of Physicians, a member of the American Clinical and Climatological Association, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He also serves as an editor-in-chief for Cancer Prevention Research, published by AACR.

As the Hollings director, DuBois will report to Saladin and Patrick J. Cawley, M.D., CEO, MUSC Health and vice president for Health Affairs, University.

DuBois will take on his added role from the cancer center’s interim director, Denis C. Guttridge, Ph.D., who has served in the role since mid-January. Guttridge accepted the interim position when the previous Hollings director, Gustavo Leone, announced his intention to become director of the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center. 

“We want to thank Dr. Guttridge for his leadership, commitment and support of the Hollings mission and team,” said Cawley. “We appreciate all the insight and energy that Denis brought to this interim role and we know he will collaborate well with Dean DuBois as they execute a smooth transition.” Guttridge will resume his dual role as director of the Charles P. Darby Children’s Research Institute in the MUSC College of Medicine, and associate director of translational sciences for Hollings. 

With its singular focus on cancer and multidisciplinary approaches to patient care and team science, Hollings is uniquely positioned to pioneer cutting-edge breakthroughs. The MUSC Hollings Cancer Center was formally established in 1993 and named for the former U.S. Senator and South Carolina Governor “Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, without whose support the formation and ongoing success of the center would not have been possible. Hollings Cancer Center continues to honor Senator Hollings’ legacy of public service, serving the entire state of South Carolina.

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About MUSC Hollings Cancer Center

The MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and the largest academic-based cancer research program in South Carolina. The cancer center comprises more than 100 faculty cancer scientists and 20 academic departments. It has an annual research funding portfolio of more than $44 million and a dedication to reducing the cancer burden in South Carolina. Hollings offers state-of-the-art diagnostic capabilities, therapies and surgical techniques within multidisciplinary clinics that include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation therapists, radiologists, pathologists, psychologists and other specialists equipped for the full range of cancer care, including more than 200 clinical trials. For more information, visit hollingscancercenter.org

About The Medical University of South Carolina

Founded in 1824 in Charleston, MUSC is the oldest medical school in the South as well as the state’s only integrated academic health sciences center with a unique charge to serve the state through education, research and patient care. Each year, MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and nearly 800 residents in six colleges: Dental Medicine, Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy. The state’s leader in obtaining biomedical research funds, in fiscal year 2019, MUSC set a new high, bringing in more than $284 million. For information on academic programs, visit musc.edu.

As the clinical health system of the Medical University of South Carolina, MUSC Health is dedicated to delivering the highest quality patient care available, while training generations of competent, compassionate health care providers to serve the people of South Carolina and beyond. Comprising some 1,600 beds, more than 100 outreach sites, the MUSC College of Medicine, the physicians’ practice plan, and nearly 275 telehealth locations, MUSC Health owns and operates eight hospitals situated in Charleston, Chester, Florence, Lancaster and Marion counties. In 2019, for the fifth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report named MUSC Health the No. 1 hospital in South Carolina. To learn more about clinical patient services, visit muschealth.org.

MUSC and its affiliates have collective annual budgets of $3.2 billion. The more than 17,000 MUSC team members include world-class faculty, physicians, specialty providers and scientists who deliver groundbreaking education, research, technology and patient care.