Staff Report

Dr. Geoffrey Weiss, one of the nation’s leading cancer researchers, has been appointed Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology and Deputy Director of the Cancer Center for Clinical Affairs and Clinical Research at the U.Va. Health System.

Weiss is a leader in bringing the newest discoveries from the laboratory to the treatment of patients and is a recognized expert in the clinical investigation of new anti-cancer agents. His particular area of expertise involves the evaluation of how the body’s immune system may be marshaled to fight cancer. He has focused his research on the management of kidney cancers and other types of cancers of the genital and urinary tracts. Among his accomplishments, Weiss has participated in the development of interleukin-2 as a standard treatment for advanced kidney cancer and for malignant melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer.

 “We are excited to be working with one of the nation’s leading experts in the development of cancer-fighting drugs,” said Dr. Arthur “Tim” Garson Jr., vice president and dean of U.Va.’s medical school. “We look forward to his arrival [later this fall], and we believe that he will help our institution reach new heights in cancer research and treatment.”
Weiss will be joining a team of more than 40 U.Va. clinical oncologists and over 150 laboratory investigators to help lead a major expansion of programs in both clinical cancer care and research. In support of these efforts, the University will soon open a new research building, construct a new cancer center and substantially increase the number of oncology faculty.

“While the Health System’s cancer center is already designated a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Clinical Cancer Center, I expect to be a partner with cancer center leaders in the effort to become an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center,” Weiss said.

NCI designation means that a center is recognized nationally for its excellence in research and patient care and for its ability to provide
resources to the community and the region focused on cancer and cancer-related problems.

“In coming to Virginia, I recognize that U.Va.’s Cancer Center is already a great place to be treated with excellent doctors committed to a team approach for care,” Weiss said. “With the advent of the new cancer center, we will be taking research and patient care o the next level.”

Weiss comes to U.Va from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio where he served as the chief of the Division of Medical Oncology and as associate director for clinical research of the San Antonio Cancer Institute.

Before joining the faculty there in 1982, Weiss received his M.D. from St. Louis University, and completed a residency in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and a fellowship in medical oncology at Harvard University’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Weiss and his wife Martha have two children; 19-year-old Mark is a student at Claremont-McKenna College in California, and 23-year-old Claire is working in Washington, D.C.