The Knight Cancer Institute
Delivering on the Promise of Personalized Cancer Therapy at the Knight Cancer Institute;
One Person at a Time
March 10, 2020
Dr. Mills discusses fascinating and very promising research that is being done at the Knight Cancer Institute and how far we have come in the treatment of cancers in the past few years.
Gordon B. Mills, MD, PhD, is the Director of Precision Oncology, Director of SMMART trials, Associate Director, ad interim, for Clinical Research and holds the Wayne and Julie Drinkward Endowed Chair in Precision Oncology in the Knight Cancer Institute. In these roles, he is responsible for the implementation of an integrated program of tumor analysis, decision-making and implementation of novel precision oncology trials. The key goal will be to use serial tumor and liquid biopsies to evaluate and target adaptive responses in real time to interdict cancer evolution. The overarching goal is to perform deep molecular analysis of each patient “to let the patient teach us what is important”. This process is facilitated by the implementation and integration of a comprehensive suite of high-throughput technologies including assessment of genomic aberrations, transcriptional profiles, functional proteomics and metabolomics, and drug screening using conventional and high content imaging systems. We have also implemented a comprehensive functional genomics program designed to distinguish drivers from passengers and identify their therapeutic liabilities. Dr. Mills has published more than 1000 papers and holds more than 20 patents. Dr. Mills has served as principal investigator or project investigator on many national peer-reviewed grants including NIH/NCI SPOREs and team grants (U01 and U54), Stand Up To Cancer, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, and Komen Foundation grants. His efforts have been recognized in the Komen Foundation’s Brinker Award for Scientific Excellence and the Finneran Family Prize for Translational Research. Dr. Mills has been very successful in supporting training, mentoring, and career development for young scientists including graduate students, fellows, and junior faculty. The majority of his trainees have developed successful research careers rising through the ranks to full professor, department chairs, and institute directors. Based on this role, he has been nominated for and awarded multiple mentoring awards, including the Stand Up 2 Cancer Laura Ziskin Prize for Mentoring and the inaugural Waun Ki Hong award for mentorship. At the Knight Cancer Institute, Dr. Mills will take a major role in the mentoring, support and career develop for young scientists and in particular physician scientists.
