UPMC Hillman Cancer Center named 2 deputy directors

After nearly a year of service as interim director and deputy director, respectively, Kathryn Schmitz and José P. Zevallos have been selected as deputy directors of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, effective Nov. 1.

Schmitz, a professor of medicine in Pitt Medicine’s Division of Hematology/Oncology, previously served the center as its inaugural associate director of population sciences and founding director of the UPMC Moving Through Cancer Program. She is an international thought leader in the field of exercise oncology and has been consistently funded by the National Cancer Institute since 2001. Schmitz has more than 350 publications and has won numerous awards, including being the first oncology researcher to receive the President’s Council on Fitness Lifetime Achievement Award.

As deputy director, Schmitz will provide strategic leadership across research, education and program development. She will assume operational responsibility during the director’s absence, represent the center in institutional and national settings and guide preparation for its upcoming Cancer Center Support Grant submission. She will oversee integration and advancement of population sciences, strengthen team-based scientific initiatives, and expand educational and community-focused research efforts.

Zevallos, the Eugene N. Myers, MD Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Pitt and UPMC, also serves as co-principal investigator of the Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant in head and neck cancer. An accomplished researcher and highly sought-after speaker, his laboratory pioneered the development of novel liquid biopsy approaches to measuring minimal residual disease and tumor-immune interactions in head and neck cancer patients treated surgically. In addition, Zevallos has multiple patents, co-founded two biotechnology companies and serves as chief scientific advisor and co-inventor of soft robotics technology with Vine Medical.

In his capacity as deputy director, Zevallos will serve as a key member of the senior leadership team with a focus on clinical and departmental affairs. He will strengthen relationships across the cancer center network and support alignment with academic departments to advance recruitment and programmatic needs. Zevallos will also play an essential part in preparing for the upcoming Cancer Center Support Grant, helping to optimize the clinical network, expand the translational scope of key research programs and ensure the continued growth of surgical research excellence. He will also contribute to team science development, entrepreneurial support for investigators, and educational initiatives including mentorship of early-career faculty.

“I want to express my sincere appreciation to both Katie and José for their oversight of UPMC Hillman while serving in their interim roles. Their strong leadership kept the transformative cancer research and compassionate clinical care thriving,” said UPMC Hillman Director John Byrd. “I am confident that working together, we will continue to strengthen and support the important work at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.”