Senior Director for Clinical Research, Huntsman Cancer Institute
Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Utah
J Robert and Ann K Stewart Endowed Professorship
David Gaffney, MD, PhD, is vice-chair and professor of radiation oncology, Senior Director for Clinical Research, and J Robert and Ann K Stewart Endowed Professorship at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. His main research interests are in clinical trial development, prognostic markers, radiation sensitizers, and secondary cancers. He is an active clinician and specializes in the radiotherapeutic management of gynecological cancers, breast cancers, and lymphoma.
Dr. Gaffney is interested in clinical trials that improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients. He serves as a co-Chair for the National Cancer Institute Gynecologic Cancer Steering Committee and previously was chair of the Gynecologic Working Group for the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). He is a past chair of the American Brachytherapy Society and the Cervix Cancer Research Network. He is active in the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup, a worldwide organization of clinical trial groups. He also chairs the Clinical Research Executive Committee at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and serves as a Senior Editor for the International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer, Gynecologic Oncology, and the American Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Brachytherapy.
In addition, Dr. Gaffney is interested in radiation sensitizers, which are drugs that make cancer cells more sensitive to the effects of radiation therapy. Dr. Gaffney enjoys working with medical students and residents on a wide variety of projects.
Dr. Gaffney received his PhD in biochemistry from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 1990 and his MD from the same institution in 1992. He completed an internship at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a residency in radiation oncology at the University of Utah School of Medicine.