Dr. Robert Rebhun has been appointed by Chancellor May as the inaugural Maxine Adler Endowed Chair in Oncology effective March 1, 2018, for a five-year term.

Maxine Adler established two endowed chairs, one in genetics and one in oncology, because of the compassionate care she received for her cats at the UC Davis veterinary hospital. Ms. Adler was interested in finding a cure for cancer, and in improving the lives of cats. She was particularly interested in the role that genetics play in predisposing animals to cancer.

Rebhun has a strong research foundation in basic and applied cancer biology with a focus on mechanisms of metastatic disease, and comparative and translational aspects of tumor biology and therapeutic strategies, which is increasingly well-funded and nationally recognized. Building on his existing funding, the recent award of a U01 grant, focused on comparative immunotherapeutics in naturally occurring canine cancer, provides further recognition of his expertise and ability to raise the caliber of comparative and translational cancer research at UC Davis.

Rebhun is an astute diagnostician and compassionate clinician, highly regarded for the quality of his patient care and client communication, innovation in clinical practice, devotion to mentorship of residents and highly effective clinical and classroom instruction of professional students. As Chair of the Clinical Trials Review Board, he has contributed substantively to expanding the school’s foot print as a leader in veterinary clinical trials. He is a dedicated mentor of professional students in research through the STAR (Student Training in Advanced Research) program, and is committed to mentoring junior faculty, postdoctoral trainees, graduate academic students, and visiting scholars. 

Rebhun received his DVM from Cornell University, his Ph.D. in cancer biology from the University of Texas – Houston/MD Anderson Cancer Center, and completed residency training in medical oncology at Colorado State University. A board certified veterinary oncologist (American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine [Medical Oncology]), he has a 25 percent clinical effort assignment to the Medical Oncology service of the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital where he is service chief and also Associate Director of the Center for Companion Animal Health.

“Dr. Rebhun is an outstanding veterinarian-scientist who seeks to address fundamental issues related to cancer treatments that benefit his animal patients and informs human oncology approaches,” said Dean Michael Lairmore. “His expertise and accomplishments make him an ideal person for the inaugural Maxine Adler Endowed Chair in Oncology.”