Scott Oakes named Vice Dean for Clinical Science Research

Scott Oakes, MD, has been named Vice Dean for Clinical Science Research of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine. 

The Vice Dean for Clinical Science Research is a new leadership role accountable for successfully implementing the research strategic plan as it pertains to clinical science within the overall BSD/PSOM research mission. Together with Conrad Gilliam, PhD, the Vice Dean for Basic Science Research, Oakes will play a central role in developing the division’s strategic plans for research. He will report directly to Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Dean of the BSD and PSOM, and Iris Romero, MD, the Executive Vice Dean for BSD, acting as a strategic leader for the office of the Dean and creating synergy across BSD research entities by working closely with the clinical research Associate Deans and research leaders in clinical departments, the Pritzker School of Medicine, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. 

Oakes is a Professor and Vice Chair of Research and Academic Affairs in the Department of Pathology. He is also a Co-Leader of the Molecular Mechanisms of Cancer Program in the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research laboratory focuses on how mammalian cells adapt or self-destruct in response to various forms of damage and what goes wrong with this process in cancer and other diseases. 

In his role as Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Pathology, he mentors research faculty in the department, supervises pre- and post-award administrators, and oversees searches for new research faculty hires, including four new BSD track faculty in the past four years. He also directs the physician-scientist development program in the Department of Pathology. 

Oakes joined the UChicago faculty in 2019, after 14 years on the faculty at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Elmira College, and his medical degree from the University of Connecticut. He completed his residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a postdoctoral fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.