Sun Named Division Director of Medical Oncology at University of Kansas School of Medicine

Weijing Sun, MD

Weijing Sun, MD

Weijing Sun, MD, has been appointed the new Sprint Foundation Professor of Medical Oncology and the director of the Division of Medical Oncology at The University of Kansas School of Medicine and The University of Kansas Cancer Center. Sun will also serve as associate director for clinical research for the cancer center. He will start his new position September 1.

"Dr Sun is an outstanding physician, clinical investigator, and an international expert in gastrointestinal oncology," said Roy Jensen, MD, director of the KU Cancer Center, who was instrumental in recruiting Sun to come to Kansas. "He also will play a key role in further enhancing our clinical research efforts as the associate director for clinical research for the KU Cancer Center, where he will be charged with overseeing our entire portfolio of support and infrastructure for our clinical investigators."

Sun, a specialist in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, is currently a professor of medicine and a medical oncologist and the University of Pittsburgh, where he also serves as director of the gastrointestinal cancers section of hematology-oncology and co-director of the UPMC Gastrointestinal Cancer Center of Excellence. Sun is also the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Experiment Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN) for the Pennsylvania Cancer Consortium at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Sun has authored numerous journal articles and has served as the primary investigator of a wide range of clinical trials. He serves as deputy editor-in-chief of theJournal of Hematology and Oncologyand associate editor of theJournal of Practical Oncology(China).

Sun serves on the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Education Program; has served on the ASCO Scientific Program and Membership Committee, and also is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR), and the ECOG-ACRIN Gastrointestinal Cancer Core Committee. He also is a member of the NCI Gastrointestinal Cancer Steering Committee Hepatobiliary Task Force, and he has been recognized on U.S. News & World Report's American Top Doctors list.

In his new position, Sun will succeed Gary Doolittle, MD, who has served as interim division director.

"It is my greatest honor to accept the position," said Sun, in a news release from the University of Kansas Medical Center. "It is my privilege to have a chance to work in this prestigious university, the outstanding health system, NCI-designated cancer center, and with this superb faculty and staff. As a new member of the KU Cancer Center, I will work with our colleagues to continue to bring our cancer research and patient care to the top of the nation in this era of precision medicine. "

Sun earned his medical degree from Shanghai Medical University, now Fudan University, in Shanghai, China. He earned a master of science degree in immunology and microbiology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and he was a post-doctoral research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Loyola University Medical Center, and he served his hematology-oncology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He also has been honored as a fellow of the American College of Physicians - Internal Medicine.

The professorship was funded through a lead gift from the Sprint Foundation, with additional support from the Hall Family Foundation.