Using Therapeutic Vitamin D Receptors to Make Pancreatic Cancer Immunotherapies more effective

Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD, FACP, is physician-in-chief and distinguished professor at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in Phoenix, Arizona, chief scientific officer at HonorHealth and US Oncology, and professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic.

Von Hoff graduated from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He went on to complete his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and a fellowship in medical oncology at the National Cancer Institute. Von Hoff became a professor in the departments of medicine and cellular and structural biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. In 1989, he became the founding director of the Institute for Drug Development at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center in San Antonio, and 10 years later became the director of the cancer center and professor of medicine at the University of Arizona.

Dr. Von Hoff’s major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents, both in the clinic and in the laboratory. He and his colleagues were involved in the beginning of the development of many of the agents we now use routinely, including: mitoxantrone, fludarabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel, gemcitabine, alemtuzumib, clofarabine, irinotecan, nelarabine, capecitabine, lapatinib, vismodegib, nal-iri, and others. Three of these agents have led to improvements in survival for patients with pancreatic cancer (gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel and nal-iri). At present, he and his colleagues are concentrating on the development of molecularly targeted therapies for patients with pancreatic and other advanced cancers.

Dr. Von Hoff has published more than 648 papers, 138 book chapters, and over 1,085 abstracts. Dr. Von Hoff received the 2010 David A. Karnofsky Memorial Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology for his outstanding contributions to cancer research leading to significant improvement in patient care.

Dr. Von Hoff was appointed to President Bush’s National Cancer Advisory Board (2004-2010). Dr. Von Hoff is the past president of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s largest cancer research organization, a fellow of the AACR Academy, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member and past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Dr. Von Hoff is founder and the editor emeritus of Investigational New Drugs, The Journal of New Anticancer Agents, and past editor-in-chief of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. He is a co-founder of the AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop. He is also proud to have been a mentor and teacher for multiple medical students, medical oncology fellows, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows.