Dr. Ronald Buckanovich
Dr. Ronald Buckanovich, M.D. Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Medical Oncology
University of Michigan Health System
Education
B.S.: Genetics and Biochemistry, Cornell University (1990)
Ph.D.: The Rockefeller University (1996)
M.D.: Cornell University School of Medicine (1998)
Research Interests
Dr. Buckanovich is currently the Thomas H. Simpson Collegiate Professor. He is the first medical oncologist at the University of Michigan to specialize in the care of women with gynecologic cancer. Dr. Buckanovich has a busy clinical practice specializing in the treatment of ovarian and uterine cancers. He is actively involved in clinical trials testing new therapeutics in ovarian cancer and is planning additional trials testing the effects of new agents targeting ovarian cancer stem cells. Dr. Buckanovich's academic work focuses on the development of novel treatments targeting cancer stem cells and host cells in the cancer stem cell niche. Cancer stem cells are reported to be the primary cause of cancer recurrences. Dr. Buckanovich's laboratory has taken several approaches to target cancer stem cells. First, ovarian cancer stem cells reside in close association with tumor blood vessel cells. His lab is developing immune-based therapies that can specifically kill tumor blood vessels. As tumor blood vessels provide essential growth signals to cancer stem cells, killing tumor blood vessels indirectly targets cancer stem cells. Furthermore, his laboratory has identified several drugs that directly target cancer stem cells - one which blocks the ability of cancer stem cells to self-renew and a second that poisons a protein made only by cancer stem cells. These simple and safe drugs increase the effectiveness of traditional chemotherapies tenfold.
B.S.: Genetics and Biochemistry, Cornell University (1990)
Ph.D.: The Rockefeller University (1996)
M.D.: Cornell University School of Medicine (1998)
Research Interests
Dr. Buckanovich is currently the Thomas H. Simpson Collegiate Professor. He is the first medical oncologist at the University of Michigan to specialize in the care of women with gynecologic cancer. Dr. Buckanovich has a busy clinical practice specializing in the treatment of ovarian and uterine cancers. He is actively involved in clinical trials testing new therapeutics in ovarian cancer and is planning additional trials testing the effects of new agents targeting ovarian cancer stem cells. Dr. Buckanovich's academic work focuses on the development of novel treatments targeting cancer stem cells and host cells in the cancer stem cell niche. Cancer stem cells are reported to be the primary cause of cancer recurrences. Dr. Buckanovich's laboratory has taken several approaches to target cancer stem cells. First, ovarian cancer stem cells reside in close association with tumor blood vessel cells. His lab is developing immune-based therapies that can specifically kill tumor blood vessels. As tumor blood vessels provide essential growth signals to cancer stem cells, killing tumor blood vessels indirectly targets cancer stem cells. Furthermore, his laboratory has identified several drugs that directly target cancer stem cells - one which blocks the ability of cancer stem cells to self-renew and a second that poisons a protein made only by cancer stem cells. These simple and safe drugs increase the effectiveness of traditional chemotherapies tenfold.