Biography:
Dr. Candace S. Johnson joined the faculty of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in February 2002, and is currently President & CEO, the M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership and Professor of Oncology.
Prior to her appointment as Roswell Park President & CEO in 2015, Dr. Johnson was Deputy Director of the Center and also Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics for more than a decade. Her major responsibilities were to facilitate the seamless bench-to-bedside development and delivery of promising new cancer therapies involving various types of cancer.
From 1997-2002, Dr. Johnson served as Deputy Director of Basic Research at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, and Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Dr. Johnson earned her doctoral degree in Immunology from Ohio State University, Columbus, in 1977. From 1977 to 1981, she completed research and postdoctoral fellowships in Immunology/Cell Biology at the Michigan Cancer Foundation, Detroit. Her research interests include translational research to facilitate the efficient application of promising laboratory findings in clinical studies; preclinical design and development of more effective therapeutic approaches to cancer using highly characterized tumor models; and mechanisms of vitamin D mediated antiproliferative effects either alone or in combination with other cytotoxic agents.
Dr. Johnson is a member of the National Institutes of Health Reviewers Reserve and has served as a member of the National Cancer Institute Review Group Subcommittee A Cancer Center (Parent Committee) and of the Experimental Therapeutics Study Section for 2 terms. She also is a member of many professional and scientific societies, Senior Editor of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Associate Editor of Molecular and Cellular Differentiation, Oncology, and Molecular Pharmacology, and a member of the editorial board of Oncology Reports and Molecular Pharmacology. Since 2019, she has served on the NCI Frederick National Laboratory Advisory Committee.
Dr. Johnson has authored or coauthored nearly 200 journal publications, book chapters and abstracts, and has been issued patents on the “Use of Pretreatment Chemicals to Enhance Efficacy of Cytotoxic Agents” and “Endothelial Specific Targeting.
Positions
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- President & CEO
- M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership
- Professor of Oncology, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
University at Buffalo
- Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Background
Education and Training:
- 1977 - PhD - Immunology - The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
- 1974 - MS - Microbiology/Pathology - The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Fellowship:
- 1981 - NIH Research Fellow - Immunology/Cell Biology - Michigan Cancer Foundation, Detroit, MI
- 1979 - Post-doctoral Research Fellow - Immunology/Cell Biology - Michigan Cancer Foundation, Detroit, MI
Professional Memberships:
- 1996 - American Society of Clinical Oncology
- 1995 - Society for Biological Therapy
- 1984 - American Society of Hematology
- 1984 - American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
- 1984 - American Association for Cancer Research
- 1983 - American Association of Immunologists
- 1980 - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Honors & Awards:
- 2018 - Canisius College Board of Regents Distinguished Citizen
- 2016 - Buffalo News Outstanding Citizen
- 2016 - University at Buffalo School of Management Alumni Association Executive of the Year
- 2013 - Dr. Thomas B. Tomasi Hope Award
- 2013 - Medaille College Excellence in Leadership Award
- 2010 - University of Pittsburgh Innovator Award
- 2010 - Elected Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science
- 2005 - Robert, Anne and Lew Wallace Endowed Chair in Translational Research
- 2003 - Scientific Contributions to Clinical Training Award, Roswell Park Cancer Institute
- 1998 - Woman of Distinction, Girl Scouts
- 1995 - Scientific Leadership Award, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
- 1979 - USPHS, NIH Post-doctoral Fellowship Award