New Co-Leader Selected for Cancer Biology Program

Koenraad Van Doorslaer, PhD has been selected as the Co-Leader for the Cancer Biology Program at the University of Arizona Cancer Center. This position works alongside current Co-Leader, Nathan Ellis, PhD, and fills the role of outgoing Co-leader, Cynthia Miranti, PhD. 

“I am looking forward to working with Drs. Van Doorslaer and Ellis in our continued expansion of impactful transdisciplinary research in cancer biology,” said Cancer Center Director, Joann Sweasy, PhD. 

“I am eager to contribute to the cultivation of partnerships among researchers from diverse disciplines within the cancer center,” Van Doorslaer said. This includes disciplines such as molecular biology, genetics, immunology, bioinformatics, and clinical oncology. By facilitating collaborations between these fields, we can bring forth fresh perspectives and leverage complementary expertise to advance our understanding of cancer.”

Van Doorslaer is an associate professor in immunobiology and BIO5. He holds appointments in the genetics and cancer biology interdisciplinary graduate programs. Doorslaer’s work at UArizona draws upon his diverse and unique multidisciplinary training in evolutionary biology, cell biology, tissue engineering, and virology to study how papillomaviruses establish long-term infections that are critical for cancer progression.

The Van Doorslaer lab is one of only a few labs in the world that is tracking the papillomaviral life cycle from infection to cellular transformation. Doorslaer received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Belgium. He moved to the United States to pursue his PhD under Robert Burk, MD, at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. As a post-doc, he worked with Alison McBride, PhD, at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.