The Richard H. Chamberlain Professorship of Research Oncology

Instituted in 1989 through the bequest of Henry S. McNeil (1917–1983), the Professorship honors the memory of Mr. McNeil’s long-time friend, Richard H. Chamberlain, MD (1915–1975), a pioneer in the field of radiology.

A professor at the Perelman School of Medicine for over 30 years, Dr. Chamberlain was Chairman of the Department of Radiology from 1961 to 1975. He achieved international prominence for his innovative and unprecedented work in the use of radionuclides for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. His interest in and knowledge of radiation and its hazards led to participation in numerous committees which were charged with establishing standards for safe uses of nuclear energy for power and research. Dr. Chamberlain was the U.S. delegate to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and was a member of the World Health Organization Expert Advisory Panel on Radiation. For many years, he assisted developing countries in establishing safe and necessary radiologic services. He also was recognized by the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America and Lund University in Sweden.

Current Chairholder

Constantinos (Costas) Koumenis, PhD

Dr. Koumenis was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. He received his BS degree in Pharmacy from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and his PhD degree in Biochemistry from the University of Houston, TX.  He completed postdoctoral training in Radiation and Tumor Biology at Stanford University.

Joining Penn in 2006, the Koumenis Lab is focused on two main areas of investigation relating to translational oncology. In the first area, they are delineating the mechanisms by which tumor cells adapt to both cell-intrinsic stress (e.g., oncogene dysregulation) and cell-extrinsic stress (e.g., nutrient limitation and hypoxia), with an emphasis on the Integrated Stress Response (ISR). They work to identify key nodes of ISR signaling and develop molecular approaches to target these nodes to delay tumor growth and metastasis and improve survival. The second area of interest entails the development of novel, more physiologically relevant animal models of incidental radiation damage and employing novel radiation delivery technologies (such as FLASH RT) in order to develop biomarkers of response to RT and to improve the therapeutic window of RT.

Dr. Koumenis is currently the principal investigator on multiple research grants from the National Institutes of Health. In addition, he has mentored many undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, some of whom hold faculty positions in academia or senior scientist positions in industry. Since 2018, he also serves as the Associate Director for Translational Research at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.