Director, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Candidate Search

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and its academic medical center partners, Cleveland Clinic (CC) and University Hospitals (UH), which together form the consortium of the NCI designated comprehensive cancer center, seek the next director for the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC). The Case CCC provides a unique forum and academic network for cancer researchers across our community to accomplish more than they may individually. Through the Case CCC, our medical institutions are linked in a stronger and more unified effort to understand the causes and progression of cancer and to use that understanding to develop treatments and to reduce the likelihood that our population will develop cancer and suffer from its consequences.

Case CCC has received an exceptional rating from the NCI for its lifesaving work, one of a small handful in the United States, after an exhaustive review of its programs which involve more than 400 physicians and scientists.  The Center also recently received notification of a two-year merit-based extension, the first of two NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers to be awarded this prestigious distinction due to sustained extraordinary progress, stability and longevity.

The Center Director serves as principal investigator for the Case CCC Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) while being responsible for oversight and integration of cancer researchers across the consortium and their links to the Centers' research programs. The Center Director must embody and promote scientific excellence with a culture of discovery, innovation, integrity, training, and collaboration that takes place in an environment that emphasizes diversity and inclusive excellence. Case CCC draws members from the three institutions and provides invaluable support for collaborative, transdisciplinary translational projects with significant community benefit, attentive to our underserved communities with equity, diversity and inclusive excellence among its trainees and membership. The academic medical centers support clinical and translational research and investigator-initiated clinical trials that reduce the cancer burden in our catchment area. A unique aspect to the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center is the fact that we serve over 60% of our catchment area, providing a unique population science research opportunity.  This is reflected in the Center’s mission statement to: Apply scientific discoveries in human cancers to improve lives across our communities through cancer prevention, detection, treatment, cure, and survivorship [https://case.edu/cancer/about-us].

Aligned with this mission, the center has a strategic plan that prioritizes discovery for patient and population benefit, collaborative efforts with expansion of multi-investigator projects and interactions with our community to refine research questions and research focus. The Center Director will oversee strategic planning for the Case CCC.  They must be a person of unquestioned integrity and the highest moral standards. For more information on the cancer center (programs, members, shared resources) please visit https://case.edu/cancer/.

School of Medicine (SOM)

The campus at CWRU encourages and facilitates collaborative interactions among scientists in the Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Nursing, Dentistry, and the College of Arts and Sciences. Extensive expertise exists in cancer pathways and population risk assessments, stem cell biology and therapeutics, protein structure, drug discovery and development, metabolomics, NMR and Cryo-EM, neurodegeneration, genomics, and epigenetics. The Center Director will be expected to capitalize on these and other resources to build cross-institutional collaborative research and educational programs. Since the SOM faculty include all investigators across 5 campuses – Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, the VA and MetroHealth, the Center Director will work with the Dean to optimize cancer research as a strategic priority across these campuses of the SOM.

Application Process

Applicants must have an MD and/or PhD or equivalent degree with an understanding of CCSG cancer centers, record of scientific achievement in cancer research recognized at the national/international level by peer review and recommendations, demonstrated leadership and collaborative skills, and a commitment to the education and mentorship of both students and faculty with attention to underrepresented individuals at all levels. Appointment as a Professor with tenure at CWRU is anticipated.

Interested candidates should submit the following preferably by February 28, 2022:

  • A curriculum vitae
  • A letter of interest addressing:
    • Research
    • Educational, administrative and leadership goals
    • Experience with an NCI designated comprehensive cancer center, and
    • Experience with diversity equity and inclusion explaining how your research, teaching, mentoring, and collaborative efforts promote diversity, equity and inclusion in cancer research.

Materials should be submitted to: Clifford Harding, MD, PhD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center search committee, c/o Susan Reichert at caseccc-director-search@case.edu.

In employment, as in education, Case Western Reserve University is committed to Equal Opportunity and Diversity. Women, veterans, members of underrepresented minority groups, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Case Western Reserve University provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity at 216-368-8877 to request a reasonable accommodation. Determinations as to granting reasonable accommodations for any applicant will be made on a case-by-case basis.