Siteman Cancer Center Names New Deputy Director Among Other Leadership Appointments

Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis announces several leadership changes, including a new Deputy Director, Associate Directors of Translational Research and Shared Resources, and a Deputy Associate Director of Shared Resources.

Appointed in the role of Deputy Director of Siteman Cancer Center is Daniel C. Link, MD, a highly regarded physician-scientist who treats patients with leukemia and conducts innovative research aimed at developing better treatments for all forms of leukemia.

“We are excited to have Dr. Link in this leadership role at Siteman Cancer Center,” said Siteman director Timothy J. Eberlein, MD, the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Cancer Programs at Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare. “He is essential in leading Siteman’s overall research enterprise, while overseeing and driving tremendous clinical trial productivity within the areas of medical oncology and bone marrow transplant.”

Link also serves as chief of the Division of Oncology in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Over the past 10 years, he has helped to develop the hematopoietic development and malignancy program at Siteman Cancer Center into one of the top scientific research programs in the country, all while making key advances in the treatment of blood cancers in his own laboratory. As the principal investigator of a prestigious Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in Leukemia, Link leads efforts aimed at boosting translational research and moving promising investigational treatments – developed at Washington University and Siteman – into clinical trials.

Link is continuing the work of John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, who served as Siteman’s first deputy director and led the Division of Oncology since 1997. Dipersio, a world-renowned physician- scientist specializing in the treatment of leukemia with immunotherapies and stem cell transplants, has stepped down from these leadership roles to return to full time research and patient care.

“It goes without saying that, since its inception, Dr. DiPersio has been an instrumental and foundational leader for Siteman Cancer Center,” Dr. Eberlein said. “Our partnership over the past 25 years proved to be complimentary and pivotal as we operationalized the vision of having world class cancer care at Siteman Cancer Center. John’s passion and talent for innovative science and clinical care is unparalleled.”

DiPersio, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Professor of Medicine and a professor of pediatrics and of pathology and immunology, is continuing to treat patients and conduct research to improve strategies for stem cell transplantation, treat graft-versus-host disease and develop novel types of CAR-T cell therapies for blood cancers.

In addition, Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Chair in Medical Oncology and a physician-scientist specializing in lung cancer, now serves as associate chief of the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine and has been named Associate Director of Translational Research at Siteman Cancer Center. Govindan will join Siteman’s Senior Leadership Committee, where he will help identify new strategies to optimize the center’s translation of research discoveries into new therapies that help cancer patients in the clinic.

Finally, Siteman Cancer Center has named an Associate Director of Shared Resources, Ben Garcia, PhD, FRSC, who also serves as head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. In his new role with Siteman Cancer Center, Garcia, who sits on the Siteman Cancer Center Senior Leadership Committee, leads ongoing evaluations of Siteman Cancer Center’s shared resources, identifying new opportunities, and then determining targeted investments. Joining Garcia as Deputy Associate Director of Shared Resources is Ben Major, PhD, a professor of cell biology and physiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.Siteman Cancer Center is fortunate to be able to rejuvenate its Senior Leadership with exceptional individuals who will maintain Siteman’s impressive scientific trajectory and continued positive impact on the patients we serve.