OHSU Knight Cancer Institute | Office of Cancer Centers

The Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) became an NCI-Designated Cancer Center in 1997 and was awarded comprehensive cancer center status in 2017. The Knight Cancer Institute is the only NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center between Sacramento and Seattle.

With its mission to end cancer as we know it, the institute is building on its groundbreaking expertise in targeted therapy to substantially improve outcomes for patients with advanced cancer and to enhance the ability to detect cancer at its earliest stages. From laboratory science to clinical trials of new treatments, to studying populations at risk, the institute’s scientists are advancing the understanding of the root causes of cancer and finding ways to improve detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

Oregon Health & Science University

Comp

Lisa M. Coussens, PhD, FAACR, FAIO
Interim Director

3181 S.W. Same Jackson Park Rd., CR145
Portland, OR 97239-3098

(503) 494-1617

Senior Leaders

Senior Leader	Title
Brian J Druker, MD	Chief Executive Officer
Eneida R Nemecek, MD	Associate Director \| Clinical Research
Gordon B Mills, MD, PhD	Associate Director \| Translational Oncology
Grace B Gill, PhD	Associate Director \| Cancer Research Training & Education Coordination
Jackilen Shannon, PhD, MPH	Associate Director \| Community Outreach and Engagement
Lisa M Coussens, PhD, FAACR, FAIO	Director
Melissa H Wong, PhD	Associate Director \| Basic Science
Mike Tworoger, MEd	Associate Director \| Shared Resource Management
Mindy Roberts, MA	Associate Director \| Administration
Shannon K McWeeney, PhD	Associate Director \| Data Science
Shelley S Tworoger, PhD	Associate Director \| Population Science
Shivaani Kummar, MD	Associate Chief Executive Officer

Research Programs

Research Program	Program Leaders
Cancer Biology	Melissa Wong, PhD; Teresa Zimmers, PhD
Cancer Prevention and Control	Sue Flocke, PhD
Quantitative Oncology	Laura Heiser, PhD; Young Chang, PhD, MS, BS
Translational Oncology	Jeffrey Tyner, PhD; Lara Davis, MD

Shared Resources

Category	Resource	Directors
Cat 1: Laboratory Science	Advanced Multiscale Microscopy	Stefanie Kaech, PhD; Claudia Lopez, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science	Flow Cytometry	Mike Munks, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science	Integrated Genomics	Robert Searles, PhD
Cat 1: Laboratory Science	Proteomics	Ashok Reddy, PhD
Cat 4: Clinical Research	BioLibrary and Pathology	George Thomas, MD; Christopher Corless, MD, PhD
Cat 6: Biostatistics	Biostatistics	Byung Park, PhD

Last Updated

December 17, 2025