By IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
March 13, 2026
Dr. Lee marks 5 years at cancer center helm
Kelvin Lee, MD, a world-recognized medical oncologist and multiple myeloma researcher, recently marked his fifth year as director of the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
We caught up with him to find out what moments stand out to him, where he sees the center in the next five years, and more.
When you look back on your first five years leading the cancer center, what moments stand out most to you?
There have been a number of them. Certainly, coming here in the middle of Covid wave No. 2 was quite an adventure. The fun thing was really getting to know everybody. The other thing that stands out was our efforts to get our name on an Indy car. That was a lot of fun. As I told folks, I had never stepped onto a racetrack until I came here. Another thing that stands out is getting the mobile CT lung screening program going. That was something that started off as a wish, but it happened thanks to the incredible generosity of the Wood Family Foundation. Those are some of the highlights so far.
Why specifically an IndyCar?
I think for a cancer center it’s important to embrace the place in which it is located … the people and the culture. We always say that our catchment area is the state of Indiana, but the cancer center reflects our catchment area — the people and the culture. We have to embrace who we are and where we are.
What lessons have you learned as a director that continues to guide your leadership?
I think the lesson, which should be no surprise to anyone, is that people matter and your teams, the people that are part of the cancer center, the culture that they generate, the camaraderie, the collaboration really make all the difference and their dedication to the work, the mission and the vision of the cancer center particularly matters in difficult times. Over the last five years, we went through Covid, the economic disruption caused by Covid, the disruption of NIH funding, and in the middle of that, we renewed our core grant. We had a lot of things that were challenges and the only way that we got through it as well as we did is because of the wonderful people that are here. It is the people that matter. I would say that that's the most important thing that I've learned as director.
How has the cancer research landscape changed since you stepped into this role?
The good news is that the impact of cancer research from basic science to screening and prevention continues to grow. We're seeing progress at an accelerating pace, with new cancer therapies, improved screening methods and new prevention strategies emerging more frequently. That progress reflects real optimism about where cancer research is going.
At the same time, there has been uncertainty around funding for the NIH and the National Cancer Institute. That created significant concern among cancer center directors and the broader biomedical research community about how disruptions in funding could slow progress or even cause us to lose a generation of scientists. And if you lose a generation of scientists, you can't get that back. Thanks to our advocates and organizations such as AACI, AACR, ASCO, the American Cancer Society — along with support from our legislative partners — funding levels have been restored to good levels with the passage of the HHS budget. Because of that, we're cautiously optimistic about the path forward.
What inspires you when you meet with researchers, trainees, or community members?
The thing that inspires me in all those groups is their enthusiasm and their dedication. They are really in it to win it. They really are there to defeat cancer. They're excited about it, especially the trainees. I talk to our summer research students every year. I say to them that there's probably somebody in this room that's going to cure cancer. For researchers, research continues to be exciting and fun. I’ve been doing this for a long time, but every week it's like, wow, that's cool. Who would've expected that to happen? Our community members are so dedicated. They are excited about the potential of cancer research and that encourages researchers to keep working because people are rooting for them.
When you started five years ago, you set out two goals to accomplish in 10 years: Earn an “exceptional” rating from the NCI and be ranked among the top 10 cancer centers by U.S. News & World Report. What’s the progress report five years in?
We are making very good progress. Getting to 10 in 10, was never going to be linear, right? It's never going to be that every year you got two places closer. I knew there was going to be a period where we really had to set the foundation to be successful. I think we’ve done that. We have gone up more than 50 spots (From 2021 to 2025, we jumped from #121 to #66) in the U.S News rankings. We’re getting there. We have a way to go to get into the top 10, but we have set the foundation for being able to launch ourselves into the top tier. As for our research evaluation, we’ve initiated a number of impactful efforts. Again, the lung cancer screening efforts are making a difference in the lives of Hoosiers, which is exactly what the National Cancer Institute wants to see.
Looking ahead, what goals or priorities are you excited to focus on in the next five years?
Learn more about Dr. Lee’s five years at the cancer center in the Winter 2026 issue of “IU Medicine.”
We want to continue to build on the strong foundation already in place across our research centers, from immunotherapy and breast cancer to lung cancer, global oncology and supportive oncology. Another priority is strengthening our approach to treating cancer patients as people, not just a diagnosis. That means focusing on the person, including survivorship and quality of life during and after cancer. As new therapies move through the translational pipeline, it is also important to better understand their side effects and how to reduce them. If we can identify the mechanisms that cause these side effects and find ways to diminish or eliminate them, it could allow patients to receive treatments closer to home rather than traveling to Indianapolis.
In cancer research specifically, I'm extremely excited about a concept called cancer interception. For many cancers, we now know there are preceding precancerous conditions that appear before cancer develops. In some people, those conditions progress to cancer, while in many others they do not. If we can understand what drives that change, we may be able to intervene and stop cancer before it starts.
Those are areas that are very exciting. We want to become national and international leaders, and we already are in many of these aspects. In the next five years, we want to see all these things grow and flourish.
