Oncologist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to Chair International Childhood Cancer Organization

Will Lead Children's Oncology Group -- Collaborative Organization in Pediatric Cancer


Peter C. Adamson, M.D., a pediatric oncologist and leading scientist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, has been selected to lead the Children's Oncology Group (COG) in its efforts to find cures for children with cancer.

An internationally recognized leader in pediatric cancer drug development, Dr. Adamson will assume his new role with COG on Jan. 1, 2010. He was elected by principal investigators of more than 200 COG sites. COG unites more than 5,000 experts in childhood cancer at leading children's hospitals, universities, and cancer centers across North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe in the fight against childhood cancer.

Dr. Adamson, who came to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 1999 from the National Cancer Institute, is the director of Clinical and Translational Research and chief of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics at Children's Hospital. He also is a professor of Pediatrics and Pharmacology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He will remain on the staff of Children's Hospital and on the Penn faculty while serving as COG chair.

Emerging research shows that even the more common childhood cancers are actually a mix of different diseases, each potentially requiring a different specific therapy. Creating such disease-targeted therapies for children with cancer requires a better pathway for moving from the bench to the bedside, which Dr. Adamson will lead through expanding COG's role at Children's Hospital and fostering new and enhanced collaborations with COG sites throughout the world.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. www.chop.edu

The Cancer Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's large basic and clinical research programs are particularly strong in pediatric neuro-oncology, neuroblastoma, leukemia and lymphoma, and sarcomas.

Physicians at Children's Hospital have had pioneering roles in developing international standards for diagnosing and treating neuroblastoma, and in developing programs for survivors of childhood cancer.