The 6th Joseph M. Quagliana, MD Endowed Lectureship

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Daniel A. Laheru, MD, PhD

Dr. Dan A. Laheru graduated magna cum laude with an Honors BA in chemistry from the University of Utah in 1990. From 1992-93 he was a Stanley Sarnoff Society of Cardiovascular Fellow in the laboratory of Bernardo Nadal-Ginard, MD, PhD at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, MA. He then received his medical degree from The Baylor College of Medicine in 1995. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Utah Hospital and Clinics from 1995-98. He completed a Medical Oncology Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 2001, he joined the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins where he currently is a Professor in Medical Oncology and Clinical Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Division. In April 2010, Dr. Laheru was installed as the inaugural Ian T. MacMillan Professorship in Clinical Pancreatic Cancer Research. Dr. Laheru is the Co-Director of the Skip Viragh Center for Pancreas Cancer Clinical Research and Patient Care. 

Dr. Laheru’s clinical research interests are in developing and testing new therapies for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. He has developed clinical studies to optimize immunotherapy in patients with resected and metastatic pancreas cancer. He has incorporated correlative biologic and immunologic studies to better understand optimal vaccine boosting schedules as well as to identify antigens that can be predictive in-vitro markers for anti-tumor immune responses. This work has served as the foundation for the development of novel new antigen specific immunotherapy vaccines for GI cancers He has authored over 150 original manuscripts, book chapters and reviews and his work has been funded by the NIH, AACR, Conquer Cancer Foundation, SU2C., industry and through private philanthropy. He has mentored 25 fellows and residents to date, with a number who are leading programs in GI Oncology across the country.

Joseph M. Quagliana, MD

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Dr. Joseph Quagliana received his doctorate of medicine with honors from the University of Buffalo School of Medicine. He then trained at Tufts University in Boston and Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo. He joined the University of Utah in 1962 as a Fellow in Hematology and became Chief Fellow in 1963.

In 1964, he was a Clinical Instructor in Medicine and Director of Research at the San Jose California Medical Foundation. He served as Captain and Deputy Hospital Commander during the Vietnam War and received an Air Force Commendation Medal for his efforts.

In 1968, Dr. Quagliana returned to the University of Utah as the Cancer Coordinator and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine. During his time with the University, he established the first Medical Oncology Division and built the Clinical Oncology Fellowship Training Program that helped the University Hospital become a cancer patient referral center. Thanks to his work the University was integrated into several national clinical cancer research groups including the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and his time and research in Utah served as a major building block to the establishment of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. While in Utah, he started the Intermountain Regional Cancer Network Program providing cancer education, protocols for patient care, research training and tumor boards in Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. This program provided a large patient referral base for the University of Utah Hospital.

Dr. Quagliana moved to Las Vegas in 1974, and became Chief of Hematology/Oncology and Director of Medical Education at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He brought the first national cancer research program, the Southwest Oncology Group to Las Vegas and the southwest. Through the introduction of SWOG to Las Vegas, patients and families now had access to multidisciplinary clinical trials which improved the practice of Oncology in preventing, detecting and treating cancer, and enhancing the quality of life for cancer survivors.

In 1978, Dr. Quagliana established his own freestanding clinic, The Cancer and Hematology Center of Nevada; the first in Southern Nevada. He affiliated with UCLA and developed the first Pediatric Oncology Program in Nevada. In 1999, he joined the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada and pursued his lifelong commitment to research and total patient care.

Dr. Quagliana is now retired and enjoying time with his family and loving wife, Paula.