Physician Director of Research, Providence Health & Services - Oregon
For more than thirty years, I have been engaged in immunological and immunotherapy research focused on translating basic science research discoveries from the laboratory bench to the cancer patient’s bedside. As a board-certified medical oncologist specializing in melanoma with a PhD in Immunology, I have been a leader in oncology for many years and have extensive experience as a principal investigator of numerous clinical studies of biological agents, including monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, vaccines and adoptive immunotherapy. After several years leading the clinical division of the NCI’s Biological Response Modifiers Program, I joined Providence Health & Services in 1993 as director of cancer research for the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center in the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute (EACRI) and medical director of the cancer program at Providence Portland Medical Center. I have served as chair of the FDA advisory committee for Cells, Tissues and Gene Therapy, been a member of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors for Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology, Chair of the Protocol Reengineering Working Group, and member of the Immunotherapy Agent Workshop and Cancer Antigen Prioritization Committees organized by the NCI. I served as the principal investigator on the multi-center international randomized trial of ipilimumab, approved by the FDA in 2011 as the first agent to improve survival of patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma. I have been an active member of the Cytokine Working Group, the melanoma committee of the Southwest Oncology Group and served on many scientific advisory boards and data safety monitoring committees. I am the site Co-PI for the Providence site of the NCI-sponsored Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network. I am also Co-PI for the Providence site in the BMS International Immuno-Oncology Network comprising 12 sites worldwide. With Dr. Thomas Brown at the Swedish Cancer Center Institute I am the co-leader of the Providence St. Joseph Genomics Program. I am also a member of the Providence St. Joseph Scientific Advisory Council led by Dr. Lee Hood. I am the Providence PI for the ASCO-sponsored TAPUR study and Providence PI for the AACR-sponsored Genie Project. Currently, as institute director and physician director for research, I am responsible for all aspects of our research administration program, clinical trials, regulatory, contracts and budgeting, protocol selection, as well as clinical research management.
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About Walter J. Urba, MD, PhD
For more than thirty years, I have been engaged in immunological and immunotherapy research focused on translating basic science research discoveries from the laboratory bench to the cancer patient’s bedside. As a board-certified medical oncologist specializing in melanoma with a PhD in Immunology, I have been a leader in oncology for many years and have extensive experience as a principal investigator of numerous clinical studies of biological agents, including monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, vaccines and adoptive immunotherapy. After several years leading the clinical division of the NCI’s Biological Response Modifiers Program, I joined Providence Health & Services in 1993 as director of cancer research for the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center in the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute (EACRI) and medical director of the cancer program at Providence Portland Medical Center. I have served as chair of the FDA advisory committee for Cells, Tissues and Gene Therapy, been a member of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors for Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology, Chair of the Protocol Reengineering Working Group, and member of the Immunotherapy Agent Workshop and Cancer Antigen Prioritization Committees organized by the NCI. I served as the principal investigator on the multi-center international randomized trial of ipilimumab, approved by the FDA in 2011 as the first agent to improve survival of patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma. I have been an active member of the Cytokine Working Group, the melanoma committee of the Southwest Oncology Group and served on many scientific advisory boards and data safety monitoring committees. I am the site Co-PI for the Providence site of the NCI-sponsored Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network. I am also Co-PI for the Providence site in the BMS International Immuno-Oncology Network comprising 12 sites worldwide. With Dr. Thomas Brown at the Swedish Cancer Center Institute I am the co-leader of the Providence St. Joseph Genomics Program. I am also a member of the Providence St. Joseph Scientific Advisory Council led by Dr. Lee Hood. I am the Providence PI for the ASCO-sponsored TAPUR study and Providence PI for the AACR-sponsored Genie Project. Currently, as institute director and physician director for research, I am responsible for all aspects of our research administration program, clinical trials, regulatory, contracts and budgeting, protocol selection, as well as clinical research management.
| Present | Physician Director of Research - Oregon, Providence | |
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Disciplines
Grants
| 2011 - Present | Cancer Human Biobank (caHUB) |
| NIH/SAIC-F - Subcontract caHUB 11ST1005 | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| 2011 - Present | Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network |
| NCI/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| 2011 - 2021 | Sponsored Research Agreement |
| MedImmune/AstraZeneca | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| 2013 - 2017 | International Immuno-Oncology Network Laboratory Resource Agreement |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| 2013 - 2014 | The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) |
| NIH/SAIC-F - Subcontract TCGA 13XS186 | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| $25,000 | |
| 2010 - 2012 | NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) |
| NIH/SAIC-F - Subcontract NCCCP 10ST1047 | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| $2,800,000 | |
| 2008 - 2011 | Characterizing and Regulating Tumor-induced Regulatory T Cells |
| National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute - 1 K22 CA127739-01A1 | |
| Role: Collaborator | |
| 2008 - 2011 | Clinical trial of DRibble vaccine in NSCLC |
| National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute - 1 R21 CA123864-01A2 | |
| Role: Principal Investigator | |
| 2006 - 2011 | Exploiting Lymphopenia to Augment the Adoptive Immunotherapy of Melanoma Patients |
| National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute - 5 R01 CA119123-03 | |
| Role: Co-Investigator |
Professional Service and Affiliations
| Present | Member, American Association for Cancer Research | Present | Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science | Present | Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science | Present | Member, American Association of Immunologists | Present | Fellow, American College of Physicians | Present | Member, American Society of Clinical Oncology | Present | Member, Clinical Immunology Society | Present | Member, Oregon Medical Association | Present | Member, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer | Present | Member, Society for Melanoma Research |
Honors and Awards
- 1973 - 1974 Henry Rutgers Honors Research Program, Rutgers University
- 1976 - 1977 California Regents Scholar
- 1977 - 1979 USPHS National Research Service Award Trainee
- 1993 National Institutes of Health Award of Merit
- 1998 Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center in the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, Portland, OR
- 2010 Team Science Award – Cytokine Working Group, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer
- 2014 History Maker Medal, Oregon History Society, Portland, OR
- 2015 Doctor of Public Service, Honoris Causa, University of Portland, Portland, OR
| 1983 - 1986 | Clinical Staff Fellow, National Institute of Health ‐ Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute | |
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| 1981 - 1983 | Medical Resident, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, New Jersey, Affiliate - Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons | |
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| 1979 - 1981 | MD, University of Miami ‐ Ph.D. to M.D. Program | |
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| 1975 - 1978 | PhD, University of California, Los Angeles ‐ Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine | |
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| 1970 - 1974 | BA, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway ‐ Biological Sciences | |
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