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Masonic Cancer Center

The Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota was founded in 1991 as the University of Minnesota Cancer Center and received its NCI designation in 1998, making it the first and only NCI-Designated Cancer Center in the Twin Cities. It was renamed the Masonic Cancer Center in 2008 following a gift from the Minnesota Masonic Charities.

The Masonic Cancer Center creates a collaborative research environment focused on the causes, prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer; applying that knowledge to improve quality of life for patients and survivors; and sharing its discoveries with other scientists, students, professionals, and the community.

The more than 500 physicians and researchers of the Masonic Cancer Center come from three University of Minnesota campuses, 14 colleges, and multiple partner organizations. Clinical research and treatment partners include M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center, Clinics and Surgery Center, and Masonic Children's Hospital. 

Read more about the Masonic Cancer Center.

University of Minnesota

Comp
Jeffrey S. Miller, MD
Interim Director, Masonic Cancer Center
MMC 806, 420 Delaware Street, S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 624-2620

Senior Leaders

Senior Leader Title
Aaron Schilz, MPA Associate Director for Administration
Carol Lange, PhD Associate Director for Basic Sciences
Christopher Pennell, PhD Associate Director for Education
David Largaespada, MD Deputy Director
Emmanuel Antonarakis, MD Associate Director for Translational Research
Heather Nelson, PhD Associate Director for Cancer Prevention and Control
Jeffrey Miller, MD Interim Director
Jenny Poynter, MPH, PhD Co-Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement
Melissa Geller, MD Associate Director for Clinical Research
Rebekah Pratt, PhD Co-Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement

Research Programs

Research Program Program Leaders
Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Lisa Peterson, PhD; Frank Ondrey, MD, PhD
Cellular Mechanisms Daniel Harki, PhD; Kathryn Schwertfeger, PhD
Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer Masato Yamamoto, MD, PhD; Rong Huang, PhD
Immunology Yoji Shimizu, PhD; Jeffrey Miller, MD
Screening, Prevention, Etiology, Cancer Survivorship Heather Nelson, PhD; Anne Blaes, MD
Transplant and Cellular Therapy John Wagner, MD

Shared Resources

Category Resource Directors
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Analytical Biochemistry Peter Villalta, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Cancer Genomics Kenneth Beckman, PhD; Betsy Hirsch, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Comparative Pathology Davis Seelig, DVM, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Flow Cytometry Christopher Pennell, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Genome Engineering Beau Webber, PhD; Branden Moriarity, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science Mouse Genetics Laboratory Timothy Hallstrom, PhD
Cat 4: Clinical Research Clinical Pharmacology
Cat 4: Clinical Research Translational Therapy Martin Felices, PhD; John Wagner, MD
Cat 6: Biostatistics Biostatistics J. Sunil Rao, PhD
Cat 7: Informatics Cancer Informatics Jinhua Wang, PhD
Last Updated
January 13, 2025