The director of the Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine has announced he will resign and the associate director of clinical services for the Institute will become interim director.

Dr. Manuel Valdivieso has announced he will resign in early 2004. In his resignation letter, Valdivieso said deciding to leave the program was difficult. "The decision was prompted primarily by factors created by the national and state economic condition that extends the timeline to fully establish the Cancer Institute in a way that is not compatible with my professional, personal and family goals."

In accepting the resignation, Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost, said "Since joining us, Dr. Valdivieso has been instrumental in developing a sound structure and programmatic direction for the Cancer Institute that will provide a framework for continued growth and development according to a five-year plan. While I am disappointed in his departure, I appreciate his contributions and wish him and his family well."

Dorsey has named Dr. Thomas Robbins, associate director for clinical services for the SIU Cancer Institute, as the interim director.

"Dr. Robbins is extremely well qualified to take on this position," said Dorsey. "He will continue implementing the organizational structure developed by Dr. Valdivieso. He also will work within the School of Medicine and the community to develop ongoing programs and new initiatives of the Cancer Institute."

Robbins joined the medical school this summer as professor and chair of the otolaryngology head and neck surgery division in the Department of Surgery. Robbins has gained international recognition for his contributions to the field of head and neck oncology. Prior to joining SIU, he was chair of otolaryngology at the University of Florida in Gainesville and previously was on the faculty at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, the University of California, San Diego and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Dorsey noted several of Valdivieso's accomplishments at SIU, including helping recruit Robbins as associate director and naming Kounosuke Watabe, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology, as associate director for basic science.

Valdivieso has recruited a basic scientist for the new molecular oncology program and a clinical faculty member to lead the palliative care program. Several other recruitments also are underway.

Valdivieso also established the multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Program and set the overall direction for other disease specific multidisciplinary programs. He has been instrumental in planning the fourth annual Cancer Institute Symposium scheduled for February 2004.

Valdivieso was named director in February 2003 and began his position in April. He previously was professor of medicine and associate director of clinical investigations, director of multidisciplinary thoracic oncology and director of the clinical research office at the Harold C. Simmons Cancer Center of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

The SIU Cancer Institute began approximately two years ago with funding from the State of Illinois with both operational funds and $14.5 million toward a permanent facility. The Institute is focusing the medical school's efforts in cancer research, physician and public education, and treatment for patients from across central and southern Illinois. More than 50 SIU physician and basic science faculty are involved with the Institute.

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