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USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center names interim director
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Peggy Farnham, PhD, has been named interim director of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Her appointment will be effective June 1.
“I am honored to step in at the helm of such a renowned institution as USC Norris,” Farnham said in a press release. “I look forward to supporting my colleagues in our mission to provide both top-notch clinical care and transformative research, upholding our status as a center of excellence focused on the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer.”
Farnham is co-leader of the epigenetics and regulation program, as well as interim associate director for basic science at the cancer center. She also is William M. Keck professor of biochemistry, as well as chair of the department of biochemistry and molecular medicine at Keck School of Medicine of USC.
She is recognized for her research related to chromatin regulation and its control of transcription factor binding and function.
Her current research uses genomic sequencing to analyze epigenetic changes within cells during neoplastic transformation, as well as changes that occur within cancer cells as they develop therapeutic resistance. She also is using CRISPR nucleases and targeted epigenetic regulators to characterize prostate cancer risk-associated regulatory elements.
“Peggy is a highly valued member of the Keck School’s faculty who has demonstrated steadfast dedication and effective leadership at USC Norris cancer center, and I am delighted that she is taking on this role,” Laura Mosqueda, MD, interim dean of Keck School, said in the release.
Farnham will take over for Alan Wayne, MD, professor of pediatrics at Keck School of Medicine of USC, who served as interim director for the past year. Wayne, director of the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases and chief of the division of hematology, oncology, and blood and marrow transplantation at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and associate director for pediatric oncology at USC Norris, will chair the nationwide search for the cancer center’s permanent director.