World-renowned researcher to become director of UAB's O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Barry Paul Sleckman, M.D., Ph.D., has been named director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

According to a Tuesday announcement, Sleckman, currently an associate director of New York’s Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine, will begin his new role at UAB on January 6.

He is also a globally acclaimed researcher who focuses on understanding how DNA double strand breaks are generated and repaired — a topic important for cancer and immune system development and function.

In a statement, Sleckman praised UAB and its world-class health system, concluding, “I’m excited to be coming to Birmingham and am ready to get to work.”

“UAB is a phenomenal institution and a rapidly growing research powerhouse, fueled in part by the more than 400 talented physician-scientists and researchers at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center,” he said. “Their ground-breaking research and treatments have far-reaching and transformational impact on cancer research and patient care in Alabama and beyond every day.”

“It’s an honor to have an opportunity to lead a cancer center that is recognized as among the nation’s best. We will continue the work to achieve the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center vision to eliminate cancer as a major public health problem,” Sleckman continued. “To do this, the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center must catalyze important cancer discoveries across diverse centers, departments and schools on the UAB campus and then translate these discoveries into innovative cancer therapies in close partnership with the UAB Health System.”

Sleckman completed his M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology at Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in infectious diseases at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. In addition to his role as associate director, Sleckman held positions as professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Prior to this, he served as associate director of the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University for 10 years.

After completing his postdoctoral training in molecular immunology in the laboratory of Dr. Frederick Alt at Boston Children’s Hospital, Sleckman started his own laboratory in 1998 as an assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine. He moved to Weill Cornell in 2015.

Will Ferniany, Ph.D., CEO of the UAB Health System, stated, “Dr. Sleckman is an excellent choice to lead the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center and continue to advance the great strides we have made in cancer treatment and prevention in the past several decades.”

“In the years ahead, the promise of proton therapy, precision oncology, advanced genomics and new therapeutics should reduce the burden of cancer on individual patients and their families, and on the health care system as a whole,” he advised.

The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB is one of the original eight National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. It is among the nation’s leading cancer research institutions and one of only 50 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. It has been continuously funded for 47 years.

“Directing the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of the most vital roles in advancing UAB’s multifaceted mission,” UAB President Ray L. Watts, M.D., emphasized.

“With Dr. Sleckman’s outstanding leadership, we look forward to building upon the center’s longtime impact and reputation as a global leader in translational research and patient care,” Watts added. “As the center pushes the frontiers of precision medicine, we will continue translating our discoveries into more effective prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship, and bringing better health and hope to patients throughout Alabama, the nation and the world.”

The center offers a full array of treatment options from multidisciplinary clinics filled with experts from across cancer fields to the latest state-of-the-art technology. The center is home to an outstanding faculty of 400 clinicians, scientists and clinician-scientists, many of whom are internationally and nationally recognized for their expertise in oncology. The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center treats approximately 20,000 patients annually, with an estimated 5,000 new patients each year.