Huntsman Cancer Institute Names Theresa Werner Chief of Oncology Division

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah and University of Utah Health have announced the appointment of Theresa Werner, MD, as chief of the Division of Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. The appointment places one of the institution’s most experienced physician-scientists at the helm of the academic division that anchors cancer care, research, and training across the Mountain West. Werner is a nationally recognized oncologist, a leader in cancer clinical trials, and an educator who has helped shape the trajectory of cancer medicine at Huntsman Cancer Institute for nearly two decades. Her rise through the institution’s ranks began in 2004, when she arrived at the U as a hematology-oncology fellow, and continued in 2007 when she joined the faculty, beginning a career that has spanned the laboratory, the clinic, and the highest levels of institutional and national leadership.

In her new role, Werner will oversee the division’s clinical, research, and educational priorities while helping guide strategic efforts to expand access to innovative cancer care, advance clinical and translational research, and support the development of future oncology leaders. The position carries particular weight at a comprehensive cancer center serving a vast and geographically dispersed region, where the division’s faculty must balance the demands of subspecialty patient care with the infrastructure required to design, launch, and sustain clinical trials. Werner’s mandate, as described by institutional leaders, is to serve as a critical connector between academics, University of Utah Health, and Huntsman Cancer Institute, aligning the division’s academic mission with the real-world needs of cancer patients and their families throughout Utah and the surrounding Mountain West states.

Werner already holds several of the institution’s most senior research and administrative posts. She serves as deputy director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Huntsman Cancer Institute and is a member of the Huntsman Cancer Institute CEO Cabinet, giving her a seat at the table where the cancer center’s institutional strategy is set. Within the school of medicine, she is a tenured professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and an adjunct professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a dual appointment that reflects the gynecologic focus of her clinical and research work. She also holds the Karen H. Huntsman Presidential Endowed Chair in Women’s Cancer Research, an endowed professorship that supports her sustained investigation into cancers that disproportionately affect women and that have historically presented some of the most difficult challenges in oncology.

As a clinician, Werner specializes in gynecologic malignancies, caring for patients with ovarian, endometrial, cervical, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers. Her practice spans the full continuum of cancer care, from initial treatment planning and enrollment in clinical trials through the management of treatment-related toxicities, survivorship, and end-of-life care. That breadth is notable in an era of increasing subspecialization, and it informs her research agenda, which addresses not only how new therapies can be developed but how patients experience treatment across its entire arc. She also brings extensive experience in breast cancer research and treatment, extending her reach beyond gynecologic oncology and positioning her to lead a division whose faculty cover the full spectrum of solid tumor and hematologic malignancies.

Werner’s research portfolio centers on experimental therapeutics for gynecologic and breast cancers, with particular emphasis on targeted therapies, immunotherapy, PARP inhibitors, biomarkers, and the design of early-phase clinical trials. PARP inhibitors, which exploit defects in DNA damage repair pathways to selectively kill tumor cells, have transformed the treatment landscape for ovarian cancer in particular, and investigators such as Werner have been central to translating that biology into clinical benefit. Her work has advanced the understanding of tumor heterogeneity, treatment resistance, and genomic predictors of cancer outcomes, and has explored novel approaches for patients with recurrent and treatment-resistant disease, populations for whom options have historically been limited. As an internationally recognized investigator, she has led and contributed to numerous clinical trials that have helped define standards of care in her field.

Her influence extends well beyond Utah. Werner serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Ovarian Cancer Panel and the NCCN Ovarian Cancer Guidelines Value Pathways Panel, bodies that help shape the national treatment guidelines and clinical resources used by oncologists across the United States. She also sits on the NCCN Guidelines Steering Committee and the NCCN Oncology Research Program, and she has served as a special expert for the National Cancer Institute Gynecologic Cancer Steering Committee, contributing to multiple national cervical and endometrial cancer planning initiatives. Since 2013, she has served as institutional principal investigator for NRG Oncology, representing Utah in the national cancer clinical trial leadership activities of one of the major cooperative groups that conducts practice-changing trials across the country. She is a recipient of the National Cancer Institute Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award and a member of the Society of Huntsman Translational Scholars.

Werner has also played a significant role in strengthening the operational machinery of clinical research nationally. Through the Association of American Cancer Institutes, she serves on the Physician Clinical Leadership Initiative and is former chair of the AACI Clinical Research Innovation Steering Committee. She was instrumental in establishing the AACI Clinical Trials Office Medical Directors Forum and the Associate Directors of Clinical Research Forum, national platforms through which the leaders of cancer center clinical trials offices share strategies for improving trial operations, accrual, and innovation. Within her own institution, her prior leadership record includes service as senior director of clinical research before her deputy director role, medical director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Office, and associate director of the University of Utah Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program. In the trials office role, she worked to recruit and train physician-scientists to lead clinical trials and implemented professional training for clinicians and staff, broadening the institution’s portfolio of investigator-initiated, pharmaceutical, national cooperative group, and Phase 1 research.

Institutional leaders framed the appointment as a natural culmination of that record. John Inadomi, MD, investigator at Huntsman Cancer Institute and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the U, described Werner as an exceptional physician-scientist, educator, and leader whose contributions have strengthened the institution’s work across cancer care, research, and education, noting that she is deeply respected by colleagues and trainees alike for her collaborative leadership style, commitment to excellence, and focus on improving the lives of patients with cancer. Bradley Cairns, PhD, chief executive officer of Huntsman Cancer Institute, said Werner brings an extraordinary combination of exceptional patient care, scientific leadership, and institutional experience to the role, and emphasized her ability to connect clinical care with research and discovery as a strength that will help deliver meaningful advances to patients throughout Utah and the Mountain West. Sachin Apte, MD, MS, MBA, chief clinical officer and physician-in-chief at Huntsman Cancer Institute, cited her national leadership, clinical expertise, and commitment to mentorship as qualities that position her to guide the division’s continued growth and innovation.

Werner succeeds Saundra Buys, MD, a Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator and Distinguished Professor who served as chief of the Division of Oncology for many years and played a pivotal role in advancing the division’s clinical, research, and educational missions. The institution also expressed appreciation to Sarah Colonna, MD, oncologist and medical director of the Family Cancer Assessment Clinic at Huntsman Cancer Institute and associate professor of internal medicine, who provided leadership as interim co-chief of the division alongside Werner during the transition. For her part, Werner described it as a privilege to lead a division with such a deep commitment to patients and such extraordinary strength in discovery, clinical research, education, and care, pledging to build on the foundation established by Buys to bring promising advances to patients more quickly. Outside of medicine, she draws leadership lessons from family life and from volunteering in youth swimming and volleyball, pointing to the value of showing up consistently, creating opportunities for growth, celebrating progress, and helping people develop confidence in their own abilities. Research at Huntsman Cancer Institute is supported by the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute, including cancer center support grant P30 CA042014, as well as by the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

Subject of Research: Leadership appointment in academic oncology and cancer clinical trials at Huntsman Cancer Institute

Article Title: Theresa Werner, MD, named chief of the Division of Oncology

Article References: Theresa Werner, MD, named chief of the Division of Oncology. (n.d.). Original publication

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Keywords: Theresa Werner, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Division of Oncology, gynecologic oncology, clinical trials, PARP inhibitors, NCCN, NRG Oncology, cancer research, physician-scientist, leadership appointment