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The director of Oregon Health & Science University’s $1 billion Knight Cancer Institute resigned this week after just one year on the job, leaving OHSU with yet another interim leader in a key role.
Dr. Tom Sellers joined the cancer institute in February 2023 as lead research officer. He became director in March 2024, when Dr. Brian Druker took a newly created position as chief executive officer, where he could focus on long-term vision, strategic planning and fundraising, OHSU said at the time.
In an email to staff, Sellers gave no reason for his departure, beyond alluding to tough conditions in medical research and at OHSU.
“These are unprecedented times for academic medicine, with challenges coming at us seemingly from every angle: international, national and state,” Sellers wrote. “Change is unsettling, especially with limited historical precedence as a guide. When Dr. Brian Druker assumed the CEO position and appointed me as director of the Knight, challenges were beginning to surface, but the guiding principles, mission and values that have served us well were firmly established, and I continue to be inspired by the dedication and innovation of the Knight.”
OHSU named Dr. Lisa Coussens as interim director at the institute. Coussens is a professor of cell biology and cancer in OHSU’s medical school and has been deputy director of basic and translational research at the Knight institute.
Sellers’ departure leaves the Knight Cancer Institute with interim leaders in the top two positions. Interim CEO Dr. Shivanni Kummar took over from Dr. Brian Druker after his surprise departure in December.
Druker revolutionized cancer treatment by proving that a compound developed by Novartis could be used to treat leukemia. The resulting drug, Gleevec, gained FDA approval in 2001. He left OHSU, he said, because the institution had “forgotten our mission” and was no longer a place to do cutting-edge research.
OHSU is relying on another interim leader as president of the whole institution, lawyer Steve Stadum, who took over after the departure of Dr. Danny Jacobs.
In addition to running OHSU day to day, Stadum is pushing ahead with the purchase of Legacy Health, a deal conceived by Jacobs and former board chair Wayne Monfries, who left his position in September.
The Knight Cancer Institute, built on Druker’s innovation with Gleevec, made headlines in 2015 when it raised $500 million to match a gift from Nike Inc. co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny. The combined $1 billion was one of the largest donations to an academic medical center.
“I am confident that Dr. Coussens is the leader Knight Cancer Institute needs, and I am very excited to work with her to ensure our continued success,” Kummar said in an email to staff. “We have experienced many changes and challenges in recent weeks, and Dr. Coussens and I want to continue an open dialogue.”