Dr. DeWeese is the first Chair of the newly created Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences. This department was established in July, 2003 from the former Division of Radiation Oncology in the Department of Oncology. Dr. DeWeese is creating a department with significant clinical and research activities as well as advanced technologic capablilty.

Since its creation, Dr. DeWeese has focused his attention on developing a departmental culture based on discovery, the recruitment of motivated faculty who are similarly inclined, the acquisition of the high-end technologies required for state-of-the-art patient care and that also serve as tools for innovation, and creating a clear clinical and translational research infrastructure.

Dr. DeWeese’s clinical interests focus on prostate cancer and the development of novel therapeutics for the disease. His clinical research is a direct translation of work from his laboratory with a particular interest in developing salvage therapies for men with a rising PSA following definitive therapy. This has included the completion of two adenoviral gene therapy studies in men with locally-recurrent prostate cancer following radiation therapy. He has also just completed another Phase II trial with Gleevec as salvage therapy following surgery or radiation therapy for men with a rising PSA and no evidence of metastatic disease. In addition, Dr. DeWeese is one of the principal investigators of a chemoprevention study which seeks to determine if treatment of men with prostate cancer for 6 weeks prior to prostatectomy with a selective COX-2 inhibitor is capable of modulating oxidative DNA damage (as determined by the amount of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanasine) in samples taken from their prostates. The results of this trial are presently under analysis.

Personal Quotation
"Excellence in research translates into the best in patient care and education for our students."