MD Anderson names new vice provost, clinical and interdisciplinary research
MD Anderson News Release June 30, 2015
MD Anderson News Release 06/30/2015
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is pleased to announce the appointment of George Wilding, M.D., as vice provost for clinical and interdisciplinary research. Dr. Wilding’s appointment at MD Anderson will begin on September 1st.
Prior to joining MD Anderson, Dr. Wilding served on the institution’s external advisory board. He also served as chair of the Moon Shots Program scientific advisory board. The Moon Shots Program was launched in fall 2012 to accelerate the conversion of scientific discoveries into clinical advances and significantly reduce cancer deaths.
In his role at MD Anderson, Dr. Wilding will oversee strategic planning, conduct, approval and regulation of all clinical research conducted at MD Anderson and its global operations. He will also provide oversight and academic leadership for our multidisciplinary research institutes.
Dr. Wilding’s interests focus on genitourinary cancers, particularly prostate cancer. In addition to his administrative appointment, he will serve as a Professor of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at MD Anderson. His research interests concern the role of androgen induced oxidative stress in prostate carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Two agents targeting this pathway for prostate cancer were developed in his laboratory. One of the agents has entered clinical testing and the other is approaching this critical phase. To date, Dr. Wilding has authored more than 235 papers. He also has a passion for and commitment to education, as reflected by more than 20 years as the Principal Investigator of a T32 NCI training grant.
Dr. Wilding currently serves as the Donald and Marilyn Anderson Professor of Clinical Oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Director Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC)., Dr. Wilding was named Interim Director of UWCCC in 2002. He then served as UVCCC’s Director from 2004 to 2013.
Dr. Wilding earned his medical degree from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where he also completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine. He completed his Medical Oncology Fellowship within the Medicine Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He joined the University of Wisconsin faculty in 1988. At the same time, he assumed his first leadership role as Chief of the Oncology Section at William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital.
During the last 25 years, Dr. Wilding assumed ever-increasing levels of major leadership responsibility at UWCCC. Key appointments included Co-Director of the Genitourinary Cancer Working Group, Director of the Experimental Therapeutics Program, Head of the Medical Oncology Section, Head of the Hematology-Oncology Division, Associate Director for Clinical Programs and Assistant Dean for Oncology. During his 12-year tenure, Carbone Cancer Center flourished, as shown by a tripling of cancer research and clinical space on the UW Madison campus.
Given his expertise and the respect he has garnered nationally and internationally, Dr. Wilding has been asked to assume a broad range of leadership roles. Highlights of his service include the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors, the NCI Task Force to review the SPORE Program, NCI ACRIN cooperative group advisory board, Board of Directors of the American Association of Cancer Institutes, and member of the External Advisory Boards of eight NCI designated cancer centers, including MD Anderson.
“I am confident that Dr. Wilding’s professional expertise and leadership experience have prepared him for this vital role,” said Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D., MD Anderson provost and executive vice president. “Additionally, his servant leadership approach and many other talents, including deep strategic thinking and thoughtfulness, will contribute substantially to our efforts to build upon our incredible foundation of critical clinical research advances.”