Leadership

MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is led by a team of renowned physicians, researchers, and administrators who have trained and served in prominent positions at some of the country’s top cancer centers and academic medical institutions. These leaders provide vision, guidance, and expertise across all of the center’s programs and initiatives.

Hollings also benefits from an external Advisory Board comprised of business, government, and lay community leaders as well as an External Scientific Advisory Board (ESAB) consisting of nationally-recognized leaders in cancer research and treatment. Together, these teams are charged with establishing Hollings as one of the country’s top centers for cancer care.

Center Director

Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D.

duboisrn@musc.edu
Hollings Cancer Center 124J

Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center and the associate provost of cancer programs at MUSC. As a physician-scientist, DuBois is passionate about cancer research and patient-centered care. He drives the strategy to strengthen and grow Hollings’ impact on cancer care in South Carolina.

An international leader in the cancer community, DuBois has more than 30 years of research experience and over 20 years of concurrent leadership experience, including senior roles at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019, which places him in the company of an elite group of internationally renowned scientists and doctors.

Deputy Director

As deputy director of MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, William Hawkins, M.D., focuses on strengthening translational research and increasing clinical trials across South Carolina. With a longstanding commitment to leadership, patient care, education and research, Hawkins has expertise in investigating pancreatic cancer. He is also a professor in the Department of Surgery at MUSC and in the Division of Surgical Oncology.

Associate Directors

A professor of public health sciences, Marvella E. Ford, Ph.D., oversees the center’s effort to address the state’s critical cancer disparities while implementing initiatives that integrate expertise in population sciences among the center’s cancer prevention & control researchers. Through community outreach and educational programs, Ford and her team work with minority leaders throughout the state to build bi-directional, trusting, and long-lasting partnerships, which are critical to Hollings investigators in tailoring culturally and contextually knowledgeable cancer interventions. She also works with the South Carolina Department of Public Health to implement cancer-focused initiatives, including the State Cancer Plan.

Ford was recognized by Modern Healthcare as a Top 25 Diversity Leader in Healthcare for 2023. This recognition places Ford in an elite group of leaders who are implementing strategies and practices to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and truly impacting the communities they serve.

Denis C. Guttridge, Ph.D., joined MUSC in 2018 as the Hollings Cancer Center associate director of translational science and the director of the Charles P. Darby Children’s Research Institute. Guttridge holds a robust research funding portfolio and has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications. He has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to cancer research and his dedication to fostering multidisciplinary and collaborative science.

Craig Lockhart, M.D., is the chief of the Division of Hematology & Oncology in the MUSC Department of Medicine. With over 20 years of experience conducting clinical trials, a key part of his role as associate director is facilitating efforts to bring scientific discoveries from Hollings' laboratories into clinical application through clinical trials.

Besim Ogretmen, Ph.D., is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the SmartState Endowed Chair of Lipidomics and Drug Discovery. An internationally renowned investigator, Ogretmen has over 25 years of experience in cancer research, specializing in the field of lipid signaling and metabolism. In his associate director role, Ogretmen integrates fundamental discoveries across multiple discipline areas, helping to accelerate translational advances into the clinic. His overall goal is to improve survival outcomes of cancer patients by developing collaborative/team science-based research projects between basic and clinical researchers.

Travis Poole, MHA, works closely with the director and members of senior and programmatic leadership to build and support the research infrastructure crucial to Hollings’ mission. He identifies new cancer research opportunities and develops resources to support these and existing efforts. He ensures active monitoring and evaluation of center progress and investments in support of the cancer center’s research programs, shared resources, and administrative support for DEI, cancer research education and training, and community outreach and engagement.

Steven A. Rosenzweig, Ph.D., is a professor of cell and molecular pharmacology. As associate director, he oversees the ongoing evaluation, development, and growth of Hollings-supported shared research resources. These shared facilities provide access to critical technologies, services, and consultation that enhance scientific interaction and productivity of cancer center members.

Nicholas Shungu, M.D., a family medicine doctor, sees the impact of cancer disparities first-hand in the patients he treats. As associate director, he leads efforts to infuse diversity, equity and inclusion into patient care, research, education and staff recruitment. He also supports Hollings initiatives to reduce cancer disparities across the state and increase minority enrollment in clinical trials.

Benjamin Toll, Ph.D., a professor of public health sciences and psychiatry at MUSC, specializes in the treatment of tobacco use disorders and improvement of health behaviors. As associate director, his goal is to provide well-structured and effective education and training opportunities for pre- and post-doctoral students and junior faculty at Hollings Cancer Center.

Assistant Directors

As assistant director of community outreach and engagement, Hazel L. Breland, Ph.D., provides executive-level administrative support, manages the COE Office’s budgets and expenses, and participates in strategic planning related to the COE Office. She also works closely with Ford to support community outreach and engagement initiatives at Hollings.

David Long, Ph.D., is the director of graduate training for the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and associate director of the Integrative Training in Oncogenic Signaling (ITOS) T32 program. As assistant director of education and training, he works with Dr. Toll to oversee education and training programs across the cancer center.

Joni Nelson, Ph.D., has dual appointments in the Department of Public Health Sciences in the College of Medicine and the Department of Biomedical & Community Health Sciences in the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, where she also serves as chief of the Division of Population Oral Health. As assistant director of OPED, she works with Shungu to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at Hollings.

Jen Wang, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Immunology. She is a member of the Hollings hematologic malignancies transdisciplinary cancer team and recipient of the NCI MERIT award and the Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award. As assistant director of shared resources, she supports Rosenzweig in growing and improving the services and facilities available to Hollings researchers.

Clinical Trials Leadership

As a senior clinical investigator, David Marshall, M.D., leads the Hollings clinical trials office and mentors Hollings investigators to support the growth and high-performance of Hollings clinical trials. As the chair of Radiation Oncology, contact PI for the NCI Minority/Underserved Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP-MU), and with a decade of service on the IRB, Marshall helps integrate clinical and research activities within MUSC and MUSC's statewide partners.

Tricia Bentz, MHA, oversees the Hollings clinical trials office which provides centralized clinical, regulatory and financial support services to Hollings investigators. She leads initiatives to expand patient access to innovative cancer clinical trials and promote high quality assurance and clinical research education services. She obtained her masters in health administration and health information management and has over 20 years of oncology research experience.

Hollings Cancer Network

As a physician providing cancer care daily to people who come to Charleston from across the state, Jason Newman, M.D., believes deeply in the importance of the strategic growth of Hollings’ cancer programs. The expansion of clinical care, research and clinical trials makes innovative treatments more accessible to more patients and helps Hollings reach populations in rural and underserved areas. As the network grows, regional teams will be able to deliver care to patients locally with specialized treatment available in Charleston. In his role as the Oncology Integrated Center of Clinical Excellence (ICCE) chief, Newman oversees the clinical activities and performance of Hollings and executes strategies for program development and growth.

As the Oncology Network Administrator, Laura Sample, MHA, FACHE, is leading the efforts to expand cancer services throughout South Carolina. She comes to MUSC from Duke University Health System, where she brings 15+ years of experience in oncology, strategy and business development.