Grandis Appointed New Associate Vice Chancellor of Clinical and Translational Research

Jennifer R. Grandis, MD, has been appointed UC San Francisco's Associate Vice Chancellor of Clinical and Translational Research (AVC-CTR) on Oct. 6. She will begin her new post in January 2015 while also holding a faculty appointment as professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

“I am excited by the opportunity to join the UCSF community and work with faculty, trainees and staff to achieve the promise of clinical and translational medicine,” Grandis said.

This is a critical role for UCSF given today’s rapidly changing landscape of research and patient care that requires the university to have a comprehensive and robust translational and clinical research infrastructure that supports the research and clinical needs of the future.

“Jennifer will lead, manage and shape the strategic direction for broad elements of our clinical and translational research enterprise including the Clinical & Translational Institute (CTSI),” said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Jeffrey A. Bluestone, PhD. “In addition, her responsibilities include serving as a liaison to national committees in the field and overseeing  all aspects of clinical trials infrastructure and processes. Jennifer will be collaborating with multiple entities and other leaders on campus, including but not limited to, the Medical Center, the entire EVCP organization, the four Schools and Graduate Division, and key ORUs and centers on campus.”

Grandis will take over for Deborah Grady, MD, who served as the interim director of Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).

“I am deeply grateful to Deborah for her outstanding job after Clay Johnston’s departure,” Bluestone said. “She has continued the exciting work of CTSI during this transition period and is an incredible asset not only to CTSI but to the entire University. Jennifer and I will continue to count on her wise counsel and commitment to the Clinical & Translational enterprise at UCSF.”

Grandis comes to UCSF from the University of Pittsburgh, where she is currently a UPMC Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Surgical Research and Distinguished Professor of Otolaryngology and Pharmacology & Chemical Biology. She leads the Head and Neck Cancer Program and is Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Otolaryngology.

Additionally, Grandis is Health Sciences Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Program Integration. Her research areas include precision medicine approaches, signal transduction, molecular targeted therapies and mechanisms of resistance to EGFR inhibitors in head and neck cancer. She is responsible for a number of patents in this area and is primary author to over 250 papers on this topic.

Grandis has a history of successfully mentoring undergraduates, medical students, otolaryngology residents and fellows in her laboratory. She serves as the PI of a T32 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to train otolaryngologists for careers as physician scientists and leads a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) focused on head and neck cancer translational research.

Grandis also served as the PI of a long standing T32 from the National Cancer Institute focused on postdoctoral training head and neck oncology. Jennifer also is an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor (since 2008) and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation as well as the American Association of Physicians. In 2012, she was elected to the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies.

Grandis will move to San Francisco with her husband Don who will join UCSF’s faculty in the Division of Cardiology.