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Dr. Hunt is Professor and Chair of the Department of Breast Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She holds the Olla Stribling Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research. She has joint appointments as a Professor in Experimental Radiation Oncology and Professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology.
Dr. Hunt’s work focuses on finding more effective therapeutics for patients with breast cancer and soft tissue sarcomas. Her translational research investigations focus on developing novel treatment strategies involving agents that target cell cycle regulation. One of the KeyHunt lab’s significant projects, was identification of low molecular weight cyclin E as an important prognostic marker of breast cancer. Ongoing studies are investigating the underlying mechanisms of resistance to standard of care therapeutics and metastasis for estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. The team has also identified a novel combination treatment strategy using cell cycle checkpoint defects in soft tissue sarcoma. Dr. Hunt has to her credit more than 650 peer-reviewed publications, 56 book chapters and six books. As an international leader in breast cancer research, she has directed major clinical trials whose results have changed standard of care treatment for many patients with breast cancer.
Dr. Hunt served as the Chair of the Breast Committee for the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) and Vice Chair of the Breast Committee for the Alliance in Clinical Trials in Oncology. She also served as Program Director of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Cancer Research Program, and Vice Chair of the ACS Cancer Surgery Standards Program. She is the Immediate Past President of the Society of Surgical Oncology, Immediate Past President of the American Radium Society and Recorder of the American Surgical Association. Her contributions to the field of oncology and translational research have been recognized through numerous awards and accolades, including: Faculty Achievement Award in Clinical Research from MD Anderson, a Texas Business Women’s Award and induction into the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame, America's Top Doctors, the John Mendelsohn Award for Faculty Leadership and OncLive 2024 Giants of Cancer Care. She was elected as a fellow of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).