ADMINISTRATION

David D. McPherson, MD (Executive Director of the CCTS), is the James T. and Nancy B. Willerson Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, Director of the Division of Cardiology, and Professor of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He is also Medical Director of the Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute–Texas Medical Center.  Before he joined The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, he was Professor of the Graduate School at Northwestern University 1999-2006, Professor of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University 1996-2006, and Director of Research of Division of Cardiology at Northwestern University 1989-2006.  Dr. McPherson has extensive research experience in cardiovascular imaging, vascular biology, and therapeutic delivery to stabilize and modify atherosclerosis. He has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Heart Foundation, and other private organizations for nearly 25 years.  He has authored more than 133 manuscripts, 281 abstracts, 21 book chapters, 14 review articles, and 8 editorials.  He is the editor of 2 books and is board certified in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, and echocardiography. He is the immediate past President of the Houston Affiliate of the American Heart Association and also serves as Chairman of the Ethics and Bylaws Committee of the American Society of Echocardiography.

Roberta B. Ness, MD, MPH (Co-Director of the CCTS for Research and Information), is Dean of The University of Texas School of Public Health and holds the M. David Low Chair in Public Health.  She was Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health 2003-2008; Director of University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Program 1997-2006; and Director of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Epidemiology of Women’s Health Program 1995-2008. Dr. Ness has had a long and distinguished career that has included teaching, research, and clinical practice in epidemiology, oncology, obstetrics and gynecology, and public health. She has authored more than 240 publications and has received more than 20 federal grants. She has studied women’s reproductive health, including inflammation and ovarian cancer; gynecologic diseases; the effect of environmental toxins on development of infants; hypertension in the mother during and after pregnancy; and risk markers for endometriosis among women on active duty in the US military.  She was one of the first investigators to propose gender-based biology as a research paradigm in her book Health and Disease Among Women: Biological and Environmental Influences, and her research has contributed significantly to advancement of knowledge in the discipline of public health.  She is President of the American College of Epidemiology and has served as a member of its board of directors since 2004. In 2008, the Society for General Internal Medicine recognized her as Distinguished Professor of Women’s Health and the Girl Scouts of America named her as Women and Girls of Distinction Honoree in Technology and Innovation.

Razelle Kurzrock, MD (Co-Director of the CCTS for Education and Training), is Professor of Medicine, Chair of the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, and Director of the Phase I Clinical Trials Program at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.  The focus of the Phase I Program is innovative clinical and translational research.  She has extensive experience in conducting patient-oriented research and in training fellows and junior faculty in the proper conduct of such research. Dr. Kurzrock has been the principal investigator on more than 50 Phase I and II clinical trials with novel targeted agents and biologic molecules.  She is very experienced in all aspects of clinical trials research, including regulatory issues, translational endpoints, and trial development.  She served as Principal Investigator of the pivotal trial leading to FDA approval of the adenosine deaminase inhibitor pentostatin for treatment of hairy cell leukemia and is the Principal Investigator on the M. D. Anderson institutional NCI-sponsored U01 program "Phase I Studies of Targeted Anti-Cancer Therapies."  Dr. Kurzrock's trials have emphasized new molecules, including growth factors, cytokine inhibitors, farnesyl transferase inhibitors, and retinoids, and her research program is recognized for using biologic endpoints and innovative trial designs to ascertain optimum biologic dose.  Dr. Kurzrock has numerous other funded.  Dr. Kurzrock has published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has received awards for excellence in clinical research, including the BPW/Texas Past State President's Award, the 3rd Annual Emil J Freireich Award, and The Otis W. and Pearl L. Walters Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Research. Dr. Kurzrock is also a Co-Principal Investigator on an M. D. Anderson NCI-funded K12 program to train fellows and junior faculty in clinical research and developed and directs the unique MS/PhD program in Patient -Based Biological Research offered through M. D. Anderson and UTHSC-H.

Jon Tyson, MD, MPH (Associate Director of the CCTS), is a pediatrician, neonatologist, and epidemiologist and the Michelle Bain Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Public Health, Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Internal Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine at UTHSC-H. He has received 47 total grant years of funding as a PI from NICHD, NHLBI, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  He has the kind of unusually broad background necessary to provide training and methodological mentoring in almost any type of clinical study.  Dr. Tyson has more than 170 clinical publications, including 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Lancet in the last 10 years. In 2004, he became the second recipient of the Douglas K. Richardson Award for Perinatal and Pediatric Healthcare Research, awarded by the Society for Pediatric Research.

CCTS Organization

See charts of:

• the participating schools and institutions,
• the components, and
• the CCTS organization

all available on the CCTS Organization and Administration page.