This month, Hoosier Cancer Research Network (HCRN) features our member University of Virginia Cancer Center and Ryan Gentzler, MD, MS, a thoracic medical oncologist and clinical investigator at the UVA Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center.

Research Interests and Expertise

Much of Dr. Gentzler’s research focuses on developing new drugs and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of patients with lung cancer. “While I have experience and interest in most areas of thoracic oncology, some areas of focus include combination therapy involving immunotherapy, novel combinations to overcome resistance for EGFR-mutant lung cancers, and new therapies for small cell lung cancer,” he said. “I also collaborate with basic and translational science researchers at UVA to study the immune microenvironment to further understand mechanisms by which lung cancer may be more vulnerable to immunotherapy.”

Dr. Gentzler is a co-chair of the HCRN Thoracic Clinical Trial Working Group and the site principal investigator for several HCRN studies, including LUN13-175, LUN14-179, and LUN17-302, a phase II study evaluating the efficacy and safety of guadecitabine in combination with carboplatin in extensive stage small cell lung cancer, which is currently enrolling subjects.

Educational background

• MD, Temple University School of Medicine
• MS, Thomas Jefferson University
• BS, Davidson College

Dr. Gentzler shares:

• I have two adorable young daughters.
• I love to downhill ski and enjoy a good snowstorm even when I’m home.
• I grew up in Southern Pennsylvania and have some Pennsylvania Dutch heritage.

About Hoosier Cancer Research Network:

Hoosier Cancer Research Network (formerly known as Hoosier Oncology Group) conducts innovative cancer research in collaboration with academic and community physicians and scientists across the United States. The organization provides comprehensive clinical trial management and support, from conception through publication. Created in 1984 as a program of the Walther Cancer Institute, Hoosier Cancer Research Network became an independent nonprofit clinical research organization in 2007. Since its founding, Hoosier Cancer Research Network has conducted more than 210 trials in a variety of cancer types and supportive care, resulting in more than 350 publications. More than 8,500 subjects have participated in Hoosier Cancer Research Network clinical trials.