November 10, 2005

Director Named for SIU Cancer Institute

Dr. K. Thomas Robbins has been named director of the SIU Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, having served as interim director of the institute since January 2004. His appointment was approved by the SIU Board of Trustees at their monthly meeting in Edwardsville on Thursday.

"Dr. Robbins has proven himself extremely well qualified to take on this leadership position permanently as he has made tremendous strides moving our developing cancer institute forward, including starting the development of a strategic plan," said Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost. "As both a clinician and a researcher, he brings the experience of both to this position which will serve him well, working with those in the medical school, the SIU campuses in Carbondale and Edwardsville, and the entire downstate region to develop ongoing programs and new initiatives."

Robbins joined SIU in July 2003 as professor and chair of the otolaryngology head and neck surgery division and associate director for clinical services for the SIU Cancer Institute.

Robbins has gained international recognition for his contributions to the field of head and neck oncology and has served as an invited guest lecturer in many countries from six continents. He is best known for his pioneer work on the use of super-selective intra-arterial chemotherapy for advanced head and neck cancer and development of the widely accepted classification for neck dissection terminology used by surgeons.

Before coming to SIU, Robbins was professor and chair of otolaryngology at both the University of Florida in Gainesville and at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He previously was director of head and neck oncology at the University of California San Diego and on the faculty of the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and subsequently at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston .

Robbins served a fellowship in head and neck surgical oncology at the Institute of Laryngology and Otology in London, England (1982). Prior to that, he completed his residency in otolaryngology at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada (1981). He received his medical degree from Dalhousie University Medical School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (1973) and completed his undergraduate education from Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada (1969).

Robbins is board certified in otolaryngology and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His professional memberships include the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Surgery, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Head and Neck Society (past president), the American Laryngologic Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Association for Research in Otolaryngology. He has served on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons and chaired its Advisory Council for Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

He serves as vice president of the American Cancer Society (ACS) western region board of directors and as the regional delegate director to ACS’s Illinois division board of directors. Other honors include teaching awards in SIU’s Department of Surgery (2004, 2005) and being named an honorary lifetime member of the Israeli Head and Neck Society at their annual meeting this spring in Israel.

Robbins has authored more than 165 scientific publications and edited several books, including the 2004 edition of the Cumming’s textbook, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. He has served on the editorial board of six medical journals. He currently is participating in two national clinical trials studying squamous cell carcinoma.

A native of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada, Robbins and his wife, Dr. Gayle Woodson, are the parents of three children.

The SIU Cancer 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 55 SIU physician and basic science faculty are involved. The SIU Cancer Institute has a web site at http://www.siumed.edu/cancer/.

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