Data scientist and cancer researcher Jill S. Barnholtz-Sloan, PhD, has been appointed chief administrative officer and associate director for research administration at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, effective July 21.
Data scientist and cancer researcher Jill S. Barnholtz-Sloan, PhD, has been appointed chief administrative officer and associate director for research administration at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, effective July 21.
In these dual roles, Barnholtz-Sloan will oversee Winship’s administrative and research operations, ensuring their alignment with Winship’s mission to discover cures for cancer and inspire hope. An executive member of Winship's leadership team, she will provide strategic oversight of areas including grants administration, clinical trials, shared resources, finance, space and facilities, marketing and communications, community outreach, educational programs and human resources. Among her key responsibilities will be the submission and management of the Cancer Center Support Grant, which provides Winship's status as a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Barnholtz-Sloan joins Winship from the National Cancer Institute where she served as acting director and associate director for informatics and data science in the Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology (CBIIT), driving strategy and catalyzing collaborative cancer research. She was also a senior investigator in NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Trans-Divisional Research Program, conducting research on the epidemiology and etiology of brain tumors.
“Winship is thrilled to welcome Dr. Barnholtz-Sloan, whose leadership at the National Cancer Institute and at NCI-designated cancer centers has consistently driven innovation and impact,” says Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, FACP, FASCO, Winship's executive director and the Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research. “She has a deep understanding of cancer center operations from multiple perspectives—as a researcher and research administrator, grant applicant and grant reviewer, core director and core user, clinical trials investigator and Institutional Review Board member—and brings a host of tools and a passion for advancing Winship’s mission.”
Before joining NCI, Barnholtz-Sloan was on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine where she served as the Sally S. Morley Designated Professor in Brain Tumor Research, director of research health analytics at University Hospitals of Cleveland and associate director for data sciences at Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. She previously held faculty appointments at Wayne State University School of Medicine (Karmanos Cancer Institute) and the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine (Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute).
“I’m delighted to join the Winship Cancer Institute team,” says Barnholtz-Sloan. “Winship drives excellence in cancer research and care, and I am hopeful to contribute to and help grow the cancer research enterprise through enabling administrative, business and research operations and all members of the cancer center.”
Barnholtz-Sloan earned a master’s degree in statistics from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in biostatistics from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. She has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and delivered more than 200 oral presentations at scientific meetings around the world. She serves on the National Brain Tumor Society Scientific Advisory Council, the American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) Brain Metastasis Advisory Committee, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Clinical Research Committee and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Data Science Task Force, in addition to co-chairing a special interest track for the Society for Neuro-oncology. Before her tenure at NCI, she was principal investigator of large-scale funded projects including an NCI P01 grant to study drivers of sex-differences in glioblastoma.