Gregory N. Gan, M.D., Ph.D.

Professional Background

After receiving his Medical Degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Gregory Gan continued his education and went on to earn his Ph.D. in DNA Repair and Mutagenesis in the Department of Pharmacology.

Dr. Gan is an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Director of Oligometastatic and SBRT Program and Director of Technology Development. As both a radiation oncologist and physician-scientist, Dr. Gan's basic science research interest focuses on the tumor microenvironment, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and radiation biology.

• PhD, DNA Repair and Mutagenesis, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
• MD, Doctor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
• BS, Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA
• Internship, Shadyside-Presbyterian Hospital; University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
• Residency, Radiation Oncology, Anschutz Cancer Center, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO
• Other, Radiation Oncology, Anschutz Cancer Center, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO

• American Board of Radiology, American Board of Radiology
• Kansas License, Kansas Board of Healing Arts

• American Association of Cancer Researchers, Member, 2012 - Present
• American Board of Radiology, Member, 2010 - Present
• American Medical Association , Member, 2000 - 2020

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Research

Overview

Dr. Gan is pursuing translational research with the goal of developing novel treatment strategies for head and neck and thoracic cancers. Dr. Gan and his research team are testing the hypothesis that radiotherapy can up-regulate EMT which can lead to tumor repopulation, distant metastasis, and overall treatment resistance. He is ideally suited to address this question because of his fellowship training and expertise in establishing head and neck cancer patient-derived tumor xenografts mouse models, developing a model for mouse head and neck irradiation, and evaluating tumor stem cell biology and its respective microenvironment. Dr. Gan is also interested in how radiotherapy (particularly high dose per fraction also known as stereotactic body radiotherapy) and EMT may affect local and distant control rates in both HPV positive and negative head and neck cancers and thoracic malignancies. He became interested in this area because local control and overall survival remain very poor for patients with HPV negative head and neck cancers. Insights gained from a better understanding of why these tumors fail locally and distantly can potentially improve outcomes.

• Smith, H, Morgan, D, Berggren, K., L, Hixon, M., D , Shen, X, Woolbright, B, Taylor, J, Gan, G., N. 2020. The MAPKAPK2 pathway mediates radiation-induced tumor inflammation and proliferation in bladder cancer
• Yilmaz, E, Cowan, A., T, Guo, Y, Lee, D., Y, Ozbun, M., A, Gan, G., N. 2020. FAT1 and CASP8 co-mutations are associated with poor prognosis in HPV negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma