Dr. Kunle Odunsi Named Chair of Gynecologic Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

BUFFALO, NY — Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center announces the appointment of Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, as Chair of its Department of Gynecologic Oncology, effective July 1. His research focuses on the molecular identification of tumor antigens in ovarian cancer and their application to the development of vaccine therapies for the disease.

Donald L. Trump, MD, FACP, President and CEO of Roswell Park, said, “It is with considerable enthusiasm that I announce that Dr. Kunle Odunsi will assume chairmanship of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology. Dr. Odunsi is an accomplished investigator and leader in gynecologic oncology and the development of cancer immunotherapy.”

Dr. Odunsi succeeds Shashikant Lele, MD, who has been named Clinical Chief of Gynecologic Oncology and Executive Director of Practice Development at Roswell Park.

Dr. Odunsi attended the University of Ife, Nigeria, and the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford, United Kingdom. He was a Resident and Executive Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Yale University School of Medicine before coming to Roswell Park in 1999 for a fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology. He joined Roswell Park’s faculty in 2001.

Dr. Odunsi will also assume leadership of the newly created Center for Immunotherapy at Roswell Park. The Center, now in development, will include a good-manufacturing-practice facility for the production of clinical vaccines, antibodies and cellular products, and will support clinical immunotherapy trials. His current work involves phase I and II clinical trials of immunotherapies in patients with ovarian cancer.

The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.

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Annie Deck-Miller, Senior Media Relations Manager
716-845-8593; annie.deck-miller@roswellpark.org