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Announcement: Dr. Samuel Asfaha named inaugural Verspeeten Chair in Translational Cancer Research
Office of the Dean
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Samuel Asfaha has been appointed as the inaugural Verspeeten Chair in Translational Cancer Research at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, effective March 1, 2026 to February 28, 2031.
As an MD, PhD trained clinician-scientist and practicing gastroenterologist, Dr. Asfaha’s career has been dedicated to bridging discovery science and clinical care to improve outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. His clinical and research training have provided him with the knowledge and skills to carry out research in the areas of stem cells, transgenic models, inflammation-associated cancers and patient-derived organoids.
Dr. Asfaha’s research group has a wealth of epigenetics, clinical and research expertise that align well with his plans to better understand how cancer arises and progresses in the setting of inflammatory injury. He has developed several novel stem cell mouse models and methods for genetic engineering of both mouse and human organoids. As a proven translational clinician-scientist in oncology, he now plans to combine his scientific approaches with clinical experience to tackle challenging aspects of oncology. This includes characterizing how cancer initiation occurs in order to develop new cancer prevention strategies, using patient-derived organoids to identify mechanisms of chemoradiotherapy resistance and developing new cancer imaging techniques and biomarker identification for early detection.
As the inaugural Verspeeten Chair in Translational Cancer Research, Dr. Asfaha looks forward to leading a transformative research program that integrates stem cell biology, genomics and patient-derived organoid technology to advance personalized cancer care. His research program aims to have a profound impact on cancer care locally and globally—directly supporting Schulich Medicine & Dentistry’s goals to accelerate clinical trial design, invest in core facilities and foster interdisciplinary partnerships.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Asfaha on his appointment.
John Yoo, MD, FRCS(C), FACS
Dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
Western University