Emory Winship Cancer Institute Leadership

Walter Curran, MD
Executive Director, Emory Winship Cancer Institute
Associate Vice President, Cancer, Woodruff Health Sciences Center
Chair of Radiation Oncology
Chief Medical Officer, Emory Winship Cancer Institute

Walter J. Curran was appointed Executive Director of the Emory Winship Cancer Institute in September, 2009.   He joined Emory in January, 2008, as the Lawrence W. Davis Chair of Radiation Oncology and Chief Medical Officer of the Emory Winship Cancer Institute. 

Prior to joining Emory, Dr. Curran was Chairman of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University.  He currently serves as Group Chairman and Principal Investigator of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), a National Cancer Institute-funded cooperative group, a position he has held since 1997.

Dr. Curran, who is a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar, has been a principal investigator on several National Cancer Institute grants and is considered an international expert in the management of patients with locally advanced lung cancer and malignant brain tumors. He has led several landmark clinical and translational trials in both areas and is responsible for defining a universally adopted staging system for patients with malignant glioma. He has authored or co-authored more than four hundred abstracts and scholarly papers, as well as numerous presentations, reviews and book chapters.  He has been chairman or co-chairman of more than 40 clinical trials and a reviewer for twelve national/international journals.  He serves as the Founding Secretary/Treasurer of the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups and a Board Member of the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (Ga CORE).  Dr. Curran is the only radiation oncologist to serve as Director of a National Cancer Institute Designated Cancer Center.

Dr. Curran is a Fellow in the American College of Radiology and has been awarded honorary memberships in the European Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology and the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology. In 2006, he was named the leading radiation oncologist/cancer researcher in a peer survey by the journal Medical Imaging. Under Dr. Curran's leadership Emory's Radiation Oncology Department has been recently selected as a "Top Five Radiation Therapy Centers to Watch in 2009" by Imaging Technology News. This review recognizes the most forward-thinking, U.S.-based cancer treatment centers, which have adopted advanced technology to optimize treatment and make a difference in patient care.  

Dr. Curran graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College, received his MD degree from the Medical College of Georgia and is a Board Certified Radiation Oncologist. Curran completed his residency in the Department of Radiation Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and his internship in internal medicine at Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia.Chief Medical Officer, Emory Winship Cancer Institute

Paul W. Doetsch, Ph.D.
Deputy Directory for Basic Research

Dr. Doestch is Professor of Biochemistry, Radiation Oncology and Hematology & Oncology and is the Emory University School of Medicine Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research. For several years he served as Interim Associate Director for Basic Research and in January 2005 (following a National search) was named Deputy Director for Basic Research at the Winship Cancer Institute. Dr. Doetsch obtained his doctoral training in nucleic acids biochemistry in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Suhadolnik at Temple University School of Medicine. He then conducted postdoctoral work as a NIH NRSA recipient at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School in the laboratory of Dr. William Haseltine.

Dr. Doetsch came to Georgia in 1985 to join our Emory faculty  where he engaged in basic cancer research. He has been associated with the Winship Cancer Institute and the leadership and development of its scientific programs for many years. He is the Program Director of a Program Project Grant, “Cellular Responses to Genotoxic Stress” and has a long track record of RO1 grant support from the NCI. Dr. Doetsch has served in the past as a regular member of the Radiation study section at the NIH and the Carcinogenesis, Nutrition and Environment study section of the American Cancer Society. He is internationally recognized for his studies and publications in the areas of DNA damage repair, mutagenesis and genetic instability. Over a decade ago, he discovered transcriptional mutagenesis and has been a pioneer in this area and its leading authority. He is the co-editor of a recent (2006) textbook, “DNA Damage Recognition” and has trained dozens of Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows. He serves on several important Emory School of Medicine advisory committees, including the Research Advisory Council (RAC) and the University’s Computational Life Sciences Advisory Committee.

View an interview with Dr. Doestch. Choose 'Dr. Paul Doestch' from the list on the video interface.

Fadlo R. Khuri, M.D.
Deputy Director for Clinical and Translational Research

Dr. Khuri serves the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University as Deputy Director for Clinical and Translational Research, Blomeyer Professor of Hematology and Oncology, Professor of Hematology & Oncology, Otolaryngology, Medicine and Pharmacology, and Chief Medical Officer and co-Director of the Institute's Cancer Drug Discovery, Development, and Delivery Program.

Dr. Khuri earned his bachelor's degree from Yale University, in New Haven, CT, and his doctoral degree from Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York, NY. He completed his residency in internal Medicine at the Boston City Hospital, Boston University School of Medicine. He then completed a fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology and is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He was on faculty at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1995-2002 prior to joining Emory University.

Dr. Khuri's clinical interests include thoracic and head and neck oncology. His research interests include development of molecular, prognostic, therapeutic, and chemopreventive approaches to improve the standard of care for patients with tobacco related cancers. His laboratory is investigating the mechanism of action of signal transduction inhibitors in tobacco related cancers. Dr. Khuri is the recipient of numerous awards, including being listed among America's Top Doctors and the Marquis Who's Who in the World. He is the recipient of a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Clinical Scholar Award, serves on the editorial boards of 7 journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research and Cancer, and has published over 100 peer reviewed articles in elite journals including Nature Medicine, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Research and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He has been the recipient of competitive, peer-reviewed federal grant support from the National Cancer Institute, Department of Defense, and American Cancer Society over the last decade.

View an interview with Dr. Khuri. Choose 'Dr. Fadlo Khuri' from the list on the video interface.

Walter J. Curran, Jr., MD, FACR
Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Curran is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology of Emory University School of Medicine where he also serves as Chief Medical Officer of the Winship Cancer Center at Emory University. Dr. Curran graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College and received his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia. He completed his residency in the Department of Radiation Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and an internship in internal medicine at Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Curran has served as Group Chairman and Principal Investigator of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), a National Cancer Institute-funded, cooperative group since 1997. He previously served as Chairman of the RTOG Brain Tumor Committee and is the principal investigator of several national clinical protocols for both brain tumor and lung cancer patients.
Dr. Curran has been a principal investigator on several National Cancer Institute grants. He has delivered many lectures in this country and abroad and has authored or co-authored over two hundred abstracts and scholarly papers, as well as numerous presentations, reviews, and book chapters. He is chairman/co-chairman of roughly nineteen clinical protocols and a reviewer for twelve national/international journals. Dr. Curran is a Board Certified Radiation Oncologist. Among other honors, he has received honorary membership to both the European Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ESTRO) and the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO).

Rein Saral, MD
Senior Associate Director

Dr. Saral was recruited to Emory University in 1991 to become Professor of Medicine and Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Emory University. Previously, Dr. Saral had completed his MD at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and had remained on faculty at Hopkins, developing their bone marrow transplant program and serving as its Clinical Director. In 1993 Dr. Saral was appointed the Director of The Emory Clinic and oversaw its transition from a private partnership to a comprehensive health care organization. In 2004 he became Vice President for Medical Affairs for Emory Healthcare, Associate Medical Director for Emory Hospitals, and Senior Associate Director in the Winshp Cancer Institute. From 1990-1006 Dr. Saral served on the NCI Cancer Center Grants Review Committee. He provides senior administrative leadership and his extensive expertise in cancer center organization in his role as Senior Associate Director.

William G. Woods, MD
Associate Director for Membership

Dr. Woods serves as Associate Director for Membership for the WCI. Dr. Woods is a Pediatric Oncologist and since 2001 has been Professor of Pediatrics, and Division Director, Emory University Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT and Chief Medical Officer, Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Previously, Dr. Woods was Director of the South Carolina Cancer Center, University of South Carolina in Columbia from 1996 -2001, when he was recruited to Emory. From 1979 he was faculty in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota. Dr. Woods is well-known for his work in childhood cancer clinical trials, serving as Associate Chairperson, Children’s Cancer Group, for all leukemia studies, from 1991-2001, and Associate Chairperson, directing scientific clinical trials and serving on the Scientific Council for COG since 2001. Since 1986, Dr. Woods has led the Quebec Neuroblastoma Screening Project as Principal Investigator. From 1997-2001 he served on the NCI Scientific Review Group for Cancer Centers. Dr. Woods is current President of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and brings tremendous expertise in the areas of pediatric clinical trials, survivorship issues, and cancer center organization to his role as Associate Director and as a key member of WCI Senior Leadership.