Barbara Kee, PhD, Professor of Pathology, has been appointed chair of the Committee on Cancer Biology, effective September 16, 2021.
Dr. Kee completed her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto and postdoctoral studies at the Salk Institute and University of California, San Diego before joining the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2001. She is currently Co-Leader of the Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer program in the Comprehensive Cancer Center and has served in various roles on the Committee on Cancer Biology (CCB), Committee on Immunology (COI), and Committee on Genetics, Genomics and Systems Biology (GGSB), including as a mentor and member of the CCB Executive and Steering Committees and the COI Admissions, Program, Mentoring, and Membership Committees.
Dr. Kee’s research focuses on immune cell development and function, with a specific focus on the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms controlling innate immune cell function in the context of viral infection and cancer, and the molecular mechanisms underlying leukemogenesis. During her 20 years at UChicago, Dr. Kee has supervised 10 graduate students and 13 postdoctoral researchers in her lab, many of which have gone on to successful careers in academia and industry. Dr. Kee has been involved in graduate education and numerous graduate program reviews during her time at UChicago and brings this expertise to the committee. She is dedicated to fostering a strong CCB community that promotes scientific excellence, collegiality, and equity.
As chair of the Committee on Cancer Biology, Dr. Kee will take the place of Stephen Kron, Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics & Cell Biology, who held the post from October 2019 to this May. Marsha Rosner, Professor and former chair of the Ben May Department of Cancer Research, has been serving as interim chair over the summer as we consulted with Committee members and students to identify a new chair.