Internationally recognized oncology leader and healthcare executive Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, is the featured speaker for the University of Illinois Cancer Center Distinguished Lecture Series on Wednesday, June 4.
Knudsen, who was named in March as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI), had previously served as CEO of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).
In her talk, “Leveraging Innovation to Accelerate Progress Against Cancer,” she will discuss the rapidly changing potential of innovation to increase the pace of cancer research, inform policy and increase access to cancer care.
Prior to ACS, she was executive vice president of Oncology Services for Jefferson Health, Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, and Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at Thomas Jefferson University. She expanded cancer services to a 16-hospital system across two states, pioneering access to clinical trials in the community setting. She is known for her practice-changing discoveries in prostate cancer and holds thought leadership roles and board positions in the healthcare and biopharma industries. She is past President of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) and served on the NCI Board of Advisors. Knudsen has received numerous awards for her contributions to cancer research and healthcare leadership, and was recently honored by Forbes as one of “50 over 50” Women of Impact and a CNBC “Changemaker.”