Dr. Raymond J. Hohl has been appointed director of Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, effective March 1. Hohl holds the Holden Family Chair and is associate chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, as well as associate director for clinical and translational research, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa. At Penn State Hershey, he will hold academic appointments as professor in the departments of Medicine and Pharmacology.
Hohl received his doctor of medicine from Rush Medical College, Rush University, and a doctorate in pharmacology from Rush University. After completing a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Chicago, he joined the faculty of the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1991 as an assistant professor of internal medicine. At Iowa, Hohl has held numerous leadership and administrative roles including serving as director of the division of hematology, oncology, and blood & marrow transplantation, and director of the fellowship program in hematology and oncology. His research leadership roles have been in both the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Iowa’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Science. His patient care experience spans the breadth of hematology and medical oncology as well as clinical pharmacology.
“Dr. Hohl is a gifted cancer physician and researcher, with a demonstrated commitment to training the next generation of clinicians and scientists who will treat and help find cures for cancer,” said Dr. Harold L. Paz, CEO of Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System, Penn State’s senior vice president for health affairs and dean, Penn State College of Medicine. “We are pleased that he has chosen to bring his comprehensive experience to Penn State Hershey and know that he will guide our Cancer Institute to new heights of patient-centered, research-focused excellence.”
Hohl’s research focuses on discovery and development of novel anticancer therapies. His work ranges from novel chemistry and basic laboratory studies to innovative human clinical trials. His research has been well-supported by grants from the NIH, Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, Department of Defense, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, American Institute for Cancer Research, and other sources; in addition, he has been a principal investigator for many investigator-initiated clinical trials.
He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and reviews and 12 book chapters, and served as associate editor for the text “Pharmacology and Therapeutics: Principles to Practice.” A reviewer for numerous journals, Hohl currently serves as associate editor for the Nature journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and is on the editorial advisory board of Lipids. Hohl is an inventor for two key patents related to his research and is co-founder of a biotechnology company that is advancing these discoveries to human therapies. He has served in prominent leadership roles in professional groups including the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (board of directors, 2003-06; president, 2010-11) and the Iowa Oncology Society (vice president, 2004-06; president, 2006-08).
In addition to his research, clinical and administrative accomplishments, Hohl has extensive experience teaching graduate, medical and other health sciences students in classroom and clinical settings.
Hohl succeeds Dr. Wafik El-Deiry, who has served as interim Cancer Institute director since August 2013.