NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Sept. 29, 2000) - Dr. R. Daniel Beauchamp, James L. Sawyers Chair in Surgery and associate director of clinical programs for the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, will be Vanderbilt's next director of the Section of Surgical Sciences, officials announced today. Beauchamp will succeed Dr. James A. O'Neill Jr., John Clinton Foshee Distinguished Chair in Surgery, who is retiring as head of the section. The transition will become official June 30 of 2001.
"Dan is an excellent clinician and surgeon, a superb teacher, and a national and international leader in the field of cancer research. I don't think there is anyone in academic surgery who is more qualified to lead the Vanderbilt Section of Surgical Sciences to the next level," said Dr. Harry Jacobson, vice chancellor for Health Affairs.
O'Neill will continue in a variety of administrative roles, including assisting with planning for the surgery aspects of the new Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, currently under construction. "I am both thrilled and honored to receive this appointment," Beauchamp said. "At the same time, I am humbled to realize I will assume the same position that giants like Barney Brooks, William Scott, John Sawyers and James O'Neill have so ably held."
The director of the division of Surgical Oncology, Beauchamp, 44, maintains an active surgical practice, particularly in the areas of breast and gastrointestinal cancer, as well as a vibrant basic research laboratory.
His research interests focus on colorectal carcinogenesis, gastrointestinal tumor biology, epithelial growth control and the identification of novel molecular targets for cancer therapy. His laboratory is involved in fundamental and translational investigation, and Beauchamp is also an active investigator in Vanderbilt-Ingram's clinical trials.
When Beauchamp joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1994 as associate professor of Surgery (Surgical Oncology) and Cell Biology, it was a homecoming of sorts. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Texas and serving his residency there, he came to Vanderbilt as a research assistant professor in the laboratory of Dr. Harold L. Moses, then chair of Cell Biology and now director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
A native of San Antonio, Beauchamp returned to his home state in 1989, when he joined the faculty at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He was first assistant professor, then associate professor, in the departments of Surgery and Human Biological Chemistry & Genetics and on the faculty of the Graduate School.
After three years back at Vanderbilt, he rose to the level of division chief and was named John L. Sawyers M.D. Professor of Surgery and professor of Cell Biology in 1997. Beauchamp recently completed a one-year term as president of the Society of University Surgeons, and has been a member of the executive committee for five years. He was only the second Vanderbilt faculty member elected to the position, which was held by Dr. H. William Scott in 1960 when he was professor and chair of Surgery.