LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky has appointed Samuel G. Awuah, PhD, as the co-leader of the Translational Oncology Research Program. 

Awuah will assume a range of responsibilities in both the scientific and administrative leadership of the program alongside co-leader Dr. Susanne Arnold. As co-leader, he will be responsible for fostering collaborations within the Translational Oncology program and across other Markey research areas. He will participate in Markey committees to provide insight and feedback to senior leadership and clinical protocol and data management leaders, guide Markey’s broad research interests, mentor junior faculty and participate in the recruitment and approval of new Translational Oncology program members. 

The Translational Oncology Research Program at Markey is dedicated to advancing cancer treatment by validating cancer targets, developing novel therapies and leading early-phase clinical trials. Serving as a link between research and patient care, the Translational Oncology Program translates discoveries from the Molecular and Cellular Oncology Research Program into clinical trials and disseminates these advancements to the community in collaboration with the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program.

Awuah joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry in the UK College of Arts and Sciences in 2017. He was promoted to the rank of associate professor of chemistry and holds a joint appointment in the UK College of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Awuah earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Oklahoma, where he developed photodynamic therapy agents for cancer. He completed his
postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he  elucidated protein-DNA mechanisms associated with cisplatin. In 2021, he received the R35 (ESI-MIRA) award from the National Institute of Health's National Institute of  General Medical Sciences and is an inventor of nearly a dozen technologies for disease treatment.

Awuah’s research program is focused on the discovery and development of chemical probes and therapeutic leads to interrogate complex biological processes and cure inflammatory and cancer-related diseases. He has published more than 55 peer-reviewed articles and is funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Science Foundation, Kentucky Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust and Veterans Affairs.