James DeGregori, PhD, has been named interim director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
DeGregori, deputy director of the CU Cancer Center and professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, has been an outstanding member of the School of Medicine faculty, leading impactful research studies to understand how carcinogenic conditions promote cancer evolution and to discover pathway dependencies in cancers that can be exploited therapeutically.
In July, DeGregori’s lab team, along with international collaborators, published a high-impact study in the journal Nature showing that respiratory viral infections such as COVID trigger inflammation that can awaken dormant cancer cells in the lungs, raising the risk of lung metastasis and cancer-related death.
In news reports, including one from Colorado Public Radio, DeGregori explained: “Dormant cancer cells are like the embers left in an abandoned campfire, and respiratory viruses are like a strong wind that reignites the flames. We showed that for both influenza virus, which causes flu, and for SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, in both cases we got a dramatic awakening of these cancers within this model."
“Dr. DeGregori is widely respected by his colleagues for his impressive work and longtime service at the School of Medicine,” says John Sampson, MD, PhD, MBA, dean of the School of Medicine and vice chancellor for health affairs at CU Anschutz. “He is the ideal choice to lead the CU Cancer Center.”
DeGregori has been appointed to the role of interim director while the school conducts a search for a permanent director to take over the role when Richard Schulick, MD, MBA, steps down at the beginning of the year. In October, Schulick announced that he will join the University of Rochester Medical Center in April as chief clinical officer, senior vice president for health system strategy, and vice dean for clinical affairs.
DeGregori joined the CU Anschutz School of Medicine in 1997 as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 2003 and professor in 2008. He joined CU after earning his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then completing a postdoctoral fellowship with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center.
DeGregori is the author of more than 180 published articles and book chapters. He is the author of the 2018 book “Adaptive Oncogenesis: A New Understanding of How Cancer Evolves inside Us.”
