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Stephen Lessnick, MD, PhD, is a Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) investigator. He is an associate professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah School of Medicine and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences. He is a co-leader of the Nuclear Control of Cell Growth and Differentiation Program at HCI. He holds a Jon and Karen Huntsman Presidential Professorship in Cancer Research.
The Lessnick Lab studies Ewing’s sarcoma as a model for pediatric tumor development. Ewing’s sarcoma is a prototypical tumor
that has a peak incidence in the teenage years. A chromosomal translocation (an abnormality that occurs when chromosomes break
and the fragments rejoin to other chromosomes) characterizes Ewing’s sarcoma. Learning details of how the cancer-causing protein created by this translocation functions could help resolve questions about the differences between pediatric and adult tumors,
and between sarcomas and other forms of cancer. Additionally, the Lessnick Lab is interested in developing new
therapeutic interventions for children with cancer.
Lessnick earned his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University followed by MD and PhD degrees from the University of
California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). He conducted his internship and
residency at Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, followed by a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital. His fellowship/postdoctoral research was performed in the Pediatric
Oncology Department at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Lessnick joined Huntsman Cancer Institute in January 2004.
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