Noted Radiation Oncology Expert to Join MD Anderson

MD Anderson News Release September 15, 2014

Stephen Hahn, M.D. Named as Chair and Division Head

MD Anderson News Release 09/15/14

Stephen Hahn, M.D., an international leader in the field of radiation oncology has been named as the division head of radiation oncology and chair of the department of radiation oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  He joins MD Anderson on Jan. 1. 

Hahn comes to MD Anderson from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, where he has served as the Henry K. Pancoast Professor and Chair, department of radiation oncology, since 2005. He helped establish the University of Pennsylvania as a clinical, academic and educational leader within the field and successfully recruited and mentored numerous junior faculty who have gone on to national leadership positions. He established a state-of-the-art proton therapy center, increased NIH-funded research and clinical trials at the institution, and served in important university leadership roles.

“Dr. Hahn’s expertise will further elevate the excellence established through the hard work and dedication of those who have built and grown MD Anderson’s radiation oncology programs,” said Ethan Dmitrovsky, M.D., provost and executive vice president at MD Anderson. “We are delighted that he will be leading this vital area. I am also thankful to Bruce Minsky, M.D., who has served with distinction as ad interim division head and department chair during this search.”

An active clinician who is board certified in radiation oncology, medical oncology and internal medicine, Hahn’s clinical interests and expertise include both lung cancer and sarcoma. His research focuses on the molecular causes of the tumor microenvironment, particularly the study of chemical signals that go awry
(known as aberrant signal transduction pathways), and the evaluation of proton therapy as a means to improve the efficiency of radiation therapy. Hahn’s research has resulted in numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals.

This month, Hahn will join the board of directors for the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and he serves as a trustee for the American Board of Radiology. He has been a faculty member in the Flims Course for Clinical Trials Methodology for eight years, for which he serves as a course director. He has been a faculty member in the AACR/ASCO-sponsored Vail Course for Clinical Trials Methodology for five years. In 2013, Hahn was named as an American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Fellow.

Hahn earned his undergraduate degree from Rice University, his M.D. at Temple University in Philadelphia, and his internship and residency at the University of California, San Francisco Hospitals. He completed a medical oncology fellowship and radiation oncology residency at the National Cancer Institute.

In 1996, Hahn joined the University of Pennsylvania’s faculty in the radiation oncology department and was named professor in 2005. That same year, he was named as the Henry K. Pancoast Professor of Radiation Oncology.  At Penn, Hahn served as director of the photodynamic therapy program, and was the department’s director of clinical services, director of clinical research and director of research. He served for one year as the department’s vice chair before being named chair in 2005.