Douglas Yee, M.D.

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (March 20, 2007) — Douglas Yee, M.D., a University of Minnesota medical oncologist who is known nationally for his work in breast cancer research, has been named director of the University's Cancer Center.

Yee joined the University of Minnesota eight years ago and is only the second director to lead the University's Cancer Center, designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a Comprehensive Cancer Center. He was selected director as part of a national recruitment search, and succeeds John Kersey, M.D., who helped found the Cancer Center in 1991.

A professor in the Medical School Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, Yee holds the Tickle Land Grant Chair in Breast Cancer Research and leads the Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Research Program. His laboratory research on the growth regulation of tumors provided the foundation for the development of new anti-cancer drugs focused on growth factor receptors.

In addition, Yee cares for patients with breast cancer as a member of the University of Minnesota Physicians and at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. He also regularly speaks about breast cancer detection and treatment to Twin Cities women's and community groups.

"As a physician and researcher, Dr. Yee has been at the forefront in discovering and delivering new treatments for breast cancer patients," said Frank Cerra, M.D., senior vice president for health sciences. "I know that as director, he will provide the same kind of vision and leadership for our Cancer Center to continue to grow and advance its mission in all areas of cancer."

"The University's Cancer Center is an extraordinary asset because it provides people in our community and region with access to the newest developments in cancer prevention and treatment," said Barbara Forster, chair, Cancer Center Community Advisory Board. "Dr. Yee is a first-class scientist with exceptional clinical and leadership skills."

Yee graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago, and trained at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md. Before coming to Minnesota, he held faculty positions at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

He has published nearly 150 articles about breast cancer in scientific journals, and is a frequent speaker at national medical and research conferences. He also serves on editorial boards for scientific journals, and on advisory boards of local, national, and international breast cancer organizations, including the Twin Cities Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and the Minnesota Society of Clinical Oncology. Yee is the current Breast Cancer Track Leader for the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The University of Minnesota Cancer Center is one of 39 cancer centers in the United States and the only one in the Twin Cities region to hold the National Cancer Institute's highest-level designation of Comprehensive Cancer Center. The designation is awarded only to institutions that make ongoing, significant advances in cancer research, treatment, and education. The more than 400 members of the Cancer Center are among the top researchers and staff in the country on bone marrow transplantation, breast cancer, bone cancer, children's cancer, cancer genetics, tobacco research, and population sciences.

Kersey, who is one of the Cancer Center's leading researchers in children's cancer, has been the director for the past 15 years. He will continue his research on childhood leukemia as holder of the Children's Cancer Research Fund Land Grant Chair in Pediatric Oncology. He also will serve as founding director emeritus of the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.

The University of Minnesota Cancer Center is part of the University's Academic Health Center. It is a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. For more information about the Cancer Center, call the information line at 612-624-2620 or toll-free in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Dakotas at 1-888-CANCER MN (1-888-226-2376), or visit the Web at www.cancer.umn.edu.

Media Contact: Mary Lawson, Public Relations Director, University of Minnesota Cancer Center, 612-624-6165, 612-363-6971 (cell), mlawson@umn.edu.