Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Vijayakrishna “V.K.” Gadi, MD, PhD, has been named the associate director for Translational Oncology Medicine at the University of Illinois Cancer Center. Gadi comes to UIC from Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he served as associate member. He was also an associate professor of medical oncology at the University of Washington. Gadi begins his tenure at the Cancer Center on Monday, March 16.
Gadi has 30 years of laboratory experience in cancer research; 20 years of experience in internal medicine clinical care, with 17 years in subspecialty experience in oncology; and 12 years of experience in translational breast cancer research. Over nearly two decades, he has amassed more than $10 million in research funding from government, philanthropic and commercial organizations.
Throughout his career, Gadi has mentored numerous students, saying: “I am proud of my role in educating at all levels of medical/research training – from undergraduates to junior faculty – over the last 19 years. Several individual trainees have become faculty members at major national and international universities.” He has also delivered educational and honorific seminars both nationally and internationally.
Gadi’s work has been extensively published, and he has secured three patents. He has also founded three companies in Seattle – SEngine Precision Medicine; Elev8Bio; and Pryzma Medicine. His current research interests include immunogenetics in, and an immunotherapy for, solid tumors; non-invasive surrogate biomarkers for cancer detection; functional genomics in cancer target discovery; and functional modeling of therapeutic responses in cancer. He also founded a charity fundraiser – Hutch Poker Masters – for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Born in Philadelphia but considering himself a son of the south (North Carolina and Alabama), Gadi received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also received a PhD in physiology and biophysics from UAB and a medical degree from UAB’s School of Medicine.