Kay Macleod Named Associate Director for Basic Sciences for the Cancer Center

Kay Macleod, PhD

Kay Macleod, PhD, Professor in the Ben May Department of Cancer Research, has been appointed as the Associate Director for Basic Sciences for the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC), effective January 15, 2024. 

The role was previously held for many years by Geoffrey Greene, PhD, Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor and Chair of The Ben May Department for Cancer Research and co-director of the Ludwig Center for Metastasis. Greene will remain on the Executive Committee of the Cancer Center and serve as a Special Advisor to Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, Director of the Cancer Center and Dean for Oncology in the Biological Sciences Division, following this transition.

Macleod is a basic researcher who uses cutting-edge approaches in cell and molecular biology, systems biology, novel mouse models and human patient samples to ask some of the most important questions about how mitochondria control tissue homeostasis, and how mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to cancer progression and metastasis. She is also a program co-leader of the UCCCC Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer (MMC) Research Program.

In her role as the new AD for Basic Sciences, she will have oversight of basic research activities across the Center and oversee research program infrastructure, including oversight of the MMC and IC programs. She will partner closely with other Associate Directors, particularly the AD for Translational Sciences (Jing Chen, PhD) and the AD for Clinical Investigation (Russell Szmulewitz, MD), to develop a research strategy that fosters team science grants such as P01s, U01s, and SPOREs. The AD for Basic Sciences is also a member of the Cancer Center’s senior leadership team and will be a critical member of the Executive Committee, working to improve and foster the translational pipeline from basic scientific discoveries to clinical research and future clinical application.