UAB: Comprehensive Cancer Center

July 20, 2011

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center announced today that Richard J. Whitley, M.D., will be joining the center's senior leadership team as the newly appointed Associate Director for Drug Discovery and Development.

A professor in the UAB Department of Medicine and Cancer Center Senior Scientist, Whitley leads the Alabama Drug Discovery Alliance in collaboration with the Southern Research Institute under the leadership of Jack Secrist, Ph.D. Whitley completed his undergraduate studies at Duke University, medical school at George Washington University and a postdoctoral fellowship at UAB.

He is co-director of UAB's Center for Emerging Infections and Emergency Preparedness and a renowned researcher on the antiviral therapies designed to fight infections in children and adults. A UAB professor of pediatrics, microbiology, medicine and neurosurgery, he also serves as vice-chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

"Dr. Whitley has done an outstanding job in developing and leading this new entity and has been influential in moving a number of cancer-related projects through the development process," said Cancer Center director Edward Partridge, M.D. "In addition, as a longtime leader of the Cancer Center's Virology Program, he has contributed substantially to the center's success."

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center is among the 40 cancer centers in the nation to meet the stringent criteria for the National Cancer Institute's comprehensive designation. The center is a leader in groundbreaking research, reducing cancer disparities and leading-edge patient care.