Messages from the Executive Vice President

February 4, 2011

New Director for Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center

I am pleased to name Pramod K. Srivastava, Ph.D., M.D., an accomplished leader in basic and translational research, as the new director of the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center, effective March 1, 2011.

Dr. Srivastava is a Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Immunology, Director of the Center for Immunotherapy of Cancer and Infectious Diseases, and part of the leadership team of the Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS). He holds the Physicians Health Services Chair in Cancer Immunology.

He has earned international acclaim for his groundbreaking work in the immunological function of heat shock proteins and in cancer immunology, is widely published in scholarly journals and serves on editorial boards for several major journals in immunology.

Dr. Srivastava’s experience and leadership skills will help steer the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center toward continued success in all facets of research, education and clinical care.

To assure continued growth across all of the multidisciplinary areas of the cancer center, a Cancer Center Advisory Group has been formed to work with Dr. Srivastava. The Advisory Group includes Robert Bona, M.D., Molly Brewer, D.V.M., M.D., M.S., Kevin P. Claffey, Ph.D., Douglas E. Peterson, D.M.D., Ph.D., and Daniel W. Rosenberg, Ph.D.

Dr. Srivastava succeeds Carolyn D. Runowicz, M.D., an internationally recognized leader in gynecologic oncology, who is leaving the UConn Health Center for a new opportunity with the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Runowicz for her years of service and wish her well in her new endeavors.

Please join me in extending congratulations to Dr. Srivastava. We look forward to many new advances and continued excellence at the Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center for years to come.

Sincerely,

Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D.
Vice President for Health Affairs
Dean, UConn School of Medicine