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MD Anderson names vice provost, science
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Helen Piwnica-Worms
Helen Piwnica-Worms, PhD, has been appointed vice provost, science, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Piwnica-Worms, who will oversee preclinical and basic science research, also will be a professor in MD Anderson’s department of cancer biology. She will begin her roles on June 1.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for me to have a greater impact on the cancer problem,” Piwnica-Worms said in a press release. “I’m enthused about making new colleagues, starting new research and advancing MD Anderson’s mission.”
Piwnica-Worms is head of the Washington University School of Medicine department of cell biology and physiology, as well as associate director for basic science and executive committee member at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis.
During her 19 years at Washington University, Piwnica-Worms became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and assumed greater levels of leadership, playing an instrumental role in building the molecular oncology program and establishing the Siteman Cancer Center.
Her research team has particular interest in molecular pathways involved in triple-negative breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and head and neck cancers.
“Helen’s career has been marked by continual waves of innovation and translation. Her pioneering work in cell cycle checkpoints has been translated into new therapeutic opportunities for cancer patients,” Ronald A. DePinho, MD, president of MD Anderson Cancer Center, said in a press release. “Her powerful blend of great science and effective translation, coupled with her strategic bandwidth, make her uniquely qualified to guide our laboratory sciences into an exciting era of vibrant discovery and clinical impact.”