Fred Hutch veteran named group leader at UI Cancer Center

Dr. Vijayakrishna “V.K.” Gadi has been named the associate director for Translational Oncology Medicine at the University of Illinois Cancer Center, and professor of hematology/oncology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Gadi comes to UIC from Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where he served as an associate member. He also was an assistant professor of medical oncology at the University of Washington.

Gadi has 30 years of laboratory experience in cancer research; 20 years of experience in internal medicine clinical care, with 17 years in subspecialty experience in oncology, and 12 years of experience in translational breast cancer research. Over nearly two decades, he has amassed more than $10 million in research grants from government, philanthropic and commercial organizations.

Throughout his career, Gadi has mentored numerous students, saying: “I am proud of my role in educating at all levels of medical/research training — from undergraduates to junior faculty — over the last 19 years. Several individual trainees have become faculty members at major national and international universities.”

He also has delivered educational and honorific seminars both nationally and internationally.

Gadi’s work has been extensively published, and he has secured multiple patents. He also has founded several companies in Seattle. His current research interests include immunogenetics of an immunotherapy for solid tumors; functional genomics in cancer target discovery, and functional modeling or therapeutic responses in cancer. He also began a charity fundraiser — Hutch Poker Masters — with the money directed to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Born in Philadelphia but considering himself a ‘son of the South’, Gadi received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He also received a Ph.D. in physiology and biophysics from UAB and an MD from UAB’s School of Medicine.