Director's Welcome

Welcome to the Division of Hematology Oncology. I hope you will find the information on our site helpful and informative.

It is my privilege to lead a group of outstanding physicians, clinical investigators and researchers dedicated to the tripartite mission of the College of Medicine: education, research and patient care. The Division strives to achieve these goals by:

• Providing cutting-edge treatment to patients in the Greater Cincinnati area and beyond
• Providing experience-driven education to our trainees
• Testing new drugs and treatment regimens through our extensive portfolio of clinical trials
• Investigating the mechanisms that govern cancer in our laboratories and clinics

In the next few years, we will continue to develop our clinical and research programs with the recruitment of additional faculty, practitioners, scientists and staff. I anticipate that we will continue to increase the pace of our discoveries and expand our clinical services and educational activities. We will continue to nurture our partnerships with the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the various schools of the University of Cincinnati. These partnerships foster multidisciplinary clinics, disease -focused tumor boards, and translational and basic science research programs.

I will summarize below the key components of our Division, which will be expanded upon in the next pages.

• Clinical activities: The Division supports the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati VA Medical Center, UC Cancer Center, and the West Chester Medical Center. Faculty members participate in multidisciplinary disease-oriented clinics and disease specific tumor boards. The Division supports a full complement of clinical and research services and programs which include, but are not limited to: Experimental Therapeutics Program, The Hematologic Malignancies Center and George L. Strike Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Centers of Excellence in solid tumor oncology, an Adult Hemophilia, Bleeding Disorder and Thrombosis Program, and a Sickle Cell Disease Center.
• Laboratory research: The Division supports lab-based investigators dedicated to translational cancer research. Research interests include oncogene-dependent cell signaling, leukemia targeted therapy, cancer metabolism, cell cycle and DNA damage repair, immunotherapy of lung and head and neck cancer, nanoparticle therapeutics, and the role of tissue factor in tumorigenesis.
• Clinical research: The Division supports an Experimental Therapeutics Program dedicated to bringing together multidisciplinary teams of clinicians and scientists on our campus to promote research into novel cancer therapies and accelerate their clinical development. In addition, we support a wide portfolio of investigator-initiated, cooperative group (NCTN and ETCTN), and pharma-sponsored clinical trials.
• Training Programs: We offer ABIM-accredited single- or double-boarded fellowship training in Hematology and Oncology and participate in the Department of Medicine's Physician-Scientist Training Program. We also offer a highly specialized fellowship in Experimental Therapeutics. Clinical fellows spend their clinical training at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Cincinnati VA Medical Center and the West Chester Hospital. Clinical fellows have ample protected time to pursue their professional interests. Post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students have access to various opportunities in the Division's research labs. Trainees also have access to a wide variety of research and training opportunities in immunobiology, laboratory medicine, transfusion medicine, cell therapy and cancer biology at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the Hoxworth Blood Center, or the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. T32 and KL-2 supported training programs are also available.

The Division will continue to develop its programs with significant investment in faculty recruitment and infrastructure to support our academic and clinical mission: Excellence in Academic Hematology and Oncology. These activities will increase the quality of patient care, educational programs and the service we deliver to our community and the nation.

Sincerely,

Davendra Sohal, MD, MPH, FASCO