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Arizona Cancer Center

The University of Arizona Cancer Center (UACC) is the only NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center headquartered in Arizona. With more than a dozen research and education offices throughout the state, the center’s mission is to alleviate the burden of cancer in Arizona, particularly in underserved populations, including people who are Hispanic and Native American.  

UACC is a regional resource and national model for overcoming cancer risks, improving treatments through transdisciplinary discoveries, training talented scientists and providers, and engaging communities though a shared determination to discover and innovate. The center has Banner – University Medical Center Tucson as its clinical affiliate in Tucson, and it operates local outpatient clinics. Founded by Sydney Salmon, a physician who served as center director from 1976 until 1999, UACC received its first NCI Cancer Center Support Grant in 1978 and was designated a comprehensive cancer center in 1990.  

Read more about the Arizona Cancer Center. 

University of Arizona

Comp
Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD
Director
1515 North Campbell Avenue
P.O. Box 245024
Tucson, AZ 85724
(520) 626-2548

Senior Leaders

Senior Leader Title
Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD Director
Drew Memmott, MPhil Associate Director, Administration
Gloria Coronado, PhD Associate Director, Population Science
Jacob Schwartz, PhD Associate Director, Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination
Jennifer Hatcher, PhD, MPH, MSN Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement
Juanita Merchant, MD, PhD Associate Director, Basic Sciences
Rachna Shroff, MD Associate Director, Clinical Investigations
Ronald Lynch, PhD Associate Director, Shared Resources

Research Programs

Research Program Program Leaders
Cancer Biology Program Nathan Ellis, PhD; Koenraad VanDoorslaer, PhD
Cancer Prevention and Control Program Jennifer Bea, PhD; Heidi Hamann, PhD
Clinical and Translational Oncology Program Steffan Nawrocki, PhD; Aaron Scott, MD

Shared Resources

Category Resource Directors
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Analytical Chemistry Hsiao-Hui Chow, PhD; Justin Snider, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Experimental Mouse Teodora Georgieva, PhD; Noel Warfel, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Flow Cytometry and Immune Monitoring Sara Centuori, PhD
Cat 3: Epidemiology, Cancer Control Behavioral Measurement and Interventions Jennifer Bea, PhD; Rina Fox, PhD, MPH
Cat 4: Clinical Research Tissue Acquisition and Cellular/Molecular Analysis Yana Zavros, PhD
Cat 6: Biostatistics Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Denise Roe, DrPH
Last Updated
September 5, 2025