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Prominent Physician/Researcher Dr. Murray Korc to Head Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

HANOVER, NH - Distinguished endocrinologist and cancer biologist Dr. Murray Korc has been appointed chair of the Department of Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, effective September 1.

Since 1989 Korc has been a member of the faculty of the University of California at Irvine where he is professor of medicine, biological chemistry and pharmacology. He also serves as chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, as well as director of the UCI Diabetes Care Program and of the UCI Osteoporosis Care and Prevention Group.

"We are delighted to recruit Dr. Korc, who is internationally recognized for his work on pancreatic cancer. He is a highly accomplished and active scholar and educator as well as an effective administrator and clinical leader," said Dr. Ethan Dmitrovsky, acting dean of Dartmouth Medical School.

Dr. Thomas A. Colacchio, president of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic, said: "This is an enormously important position for the medical school and the medical center -- one that helps set the tone and the direction for our research and clinical missions. Dr. Korc is extremely qualified and I look forward to working closely with him as the Department of Medicine continues to grow and excel in the coming years."

Korc succeeds former medicine chair Dr. Harold Sox as Joseph M. Huber Professor, and Dr. Donald St. Germain who has been acting chair since Sox left for another post in July 2001. The appointment is pending approval by the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees.

"It was a difficult decision for me to leave UC Irvine after 14 wonderful years," Korc said. "However, I was very impressed with the clinical and academic accomplishments at Dartmouth and DHMC, with the core values that are evident everywhere here, with the stunningly focused direction of the senior leadership, and with the collegial demeanor of all of the faculty members and administrators.

"Thus, the prospect of being able to lead a Department of Medicine that has a long tradition of excellence, that is loaded with talented individuals, and that is based in one of the best designed hospitals in the United States, simply became irresistible. Indeed, I am eagerly looking forward to working together with my new colleagues to support their academic and scholarly aspirations, and to guiding the department as it meets its new challenges and opportunities."

Korc's research has focused on the molecular underpinnings of pancreatic cancer, an unusually aggressive malignancy. Exploring disruptions of the cell signaling pathways that occur when growth-stimulating factors overpower growth-inhibiting factors, Korc is homing in on the role of growth factors and their receptors in promoting the malignancy. His work could help lead to novel therapies in cancer as well as other diseases by intervening at critical steps to restore the normal checks and balances. He is also interested in the mechanisms of action of peptide hormones and diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Active in numerous professional societies, Korc is a past president of the American Pancreas Association and has been a frequent invited speaker nationally and internationally. A researcher who is well-funded by the National Institutes of Health, he is author of more than 200 publications and serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Pancreas, Journal of Biological Chemistry and Digestive Diseases. Korc held posts previously at the University of Arizona and the University of California at San Francisco, after receiving his medical degree (1974) and training (1974-1977) at Albany Medical College and Medical Center.