Who We Are

The Maurice and Marguerite Liberman Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research
Director and CEO, UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine

Dr. Yolanda (Yoli) Sanchez is the first Hispanic/Latine woman to lead a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is responsible for all cancer research and cancer clinical programs at the University of New Mexico, covering all schools, colleges, departments, and facilities. Dr. Sanchez has authority over all basic, translational, clinical, and population-based research; all cancer clinical trials; and all ambulatory and inpatient cancer clinical services, which include the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMCCC) clinical building and 30 dedicated beds at UNM Hospital. Dr. Sanchez is an international expert in DNA damage response pathways. Her work focuses on exploring oncology targets and drug development for clinical trials.

Read the full biography on the Director's Message page.

The Victor and Ruby Hansen Surface Endowed Chair in Cancer Research
Deputy Director, UNM Cancer Center
Associate Director for Basic Research, UNM Cancer Center
Professor, Division of Molecular Medicine, UNM Department of Internal Medicine

Trained in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne in England, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, and UC-Berkeley, Dr. Tomkinson is an international expert in the DNA repair mechanisms that prevent cancer by maintaining genome stability and in understanding how these pathways are perturbed in cancer cells. His work is leading to the development of new therapies which target these alterations in cancer cells. At UNM, he leads teams of laboratory scientists focused on fundamental cancer research.

The Victor and Ruby Hansen Surface Endowed Professor in Ovarian Cancer Research
Associate Director for Translational Research, UNM Cancer Center
Professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, UNM Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology

A gynecologic oncologist and cancer research scientist, Dr. Adams’ lab focuses on tumor immunology and the development of novel treatment strategies for ovarian cancer. Her lab recently demonstrated that PARP inhibition synergizes with CTLA4 immune checkpoint blockade in BRCA1 deficient ovarian cancer models. This work resulted in an investigator-initiated clinical trial in 2016, which has since been expanded nationally through NRG. The translation of this work to clinical testing has spurred ongoing mechanistic studies in the lab focused on understanding tumor-tumor microenvironment interactions that modulate the efficacy of tumor-directed agents.

Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Deputy Director of Clinical Operations and Chief Medical Officer
Chief of Division of Hematology/Oncology
Associate Director for Clinical Operations

Dr. Dayao serves in clinical and administrative functions at UNMCCC. Her areas of research interest are breast cancer, barriers to health care, and clinical trial accruals and symptom control. Her practice is almost exclusively devoted to breast cancer. Dr. Dayao serves as a local PI for multiple NCI cooperative group, pharmaceutical, and investigator-initiated clinical trials, and she serves on several national clinical research committees focused on breast cancer and quality of life. She has chaired the UNMH Cancer Committee, in which she oversees the Center-wide implementation and completion of standards of the Commission on Cancer.

The Judy Putman Dirks Endowed Professor in Gynecologic Cancer Care
Associate Director for Clinical Research, UNM Cancer Center
Professor & Director, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology

Trained at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Muller is a physician-scientist who conducts research primarily focusing on ovarian cancer. She collaborates with basic scientists at UNM to find a novel component of a repurposed drug, R-ketorolac, that impedes cancerous cell growth and the spread of ovarian cancer. She and her colleagues developed the clinical trials that have recently reported on this novel component. Dr. Muller also serves as the principal investigator of the NCI Minority Underserved NCORP grant that helps to support the UNM Cancer Center research clinical trials network.

Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement, UNM Cancer Center
Associate Professor Family Community Medicine

Trained as a cultural anthropologist at The University of New Mexico, Dr. Sussman also serves as director of the Behavioral Measurement and Population Science Shared Resource at the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center and as co-Principal Investigator of the ongoing GMaP Region 3 grant that addresses cancer disparities through training, education and research in the eight states that comprise the region. Dr. Sussman has designed and led numerous qualitative and mixed method research studies. His research focuses on primary health and cancer care delivery research and patient-provider counseling dynamics among health disparity populations in New Mexico.

Associate Director for Education, Training and Mentoring, UNM Cancer Center
Professor, UNM Department of Pathology

Dr. Gillette received her doctorate in Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado Health Science Center and completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the National Institute of Health. Over the course of her career, she has received many awards and honors. Most recently, she was awarded a UNM Health Sciences Center Regents Lectureship, and received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Associate Director for Population and Data Science, UNM Cancer Center
Director of Data Science Initiative, UNM Health Sciences Center
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Preventive Medicine

Dr Amos assists in building the UNM Cancer Center’s research programs in cancer population sciences, cancer control, community engagement, cancer-relevant behavioral intervention, and cancer health disparities. He holds a doctorate in Biometry from LSU Medical Center in New Orleans, and his postdoctoral training included a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, where he focused on family studies and environmental epidemiology. Dr. Amos’ research focuses on the genetic epidemiology of cancer. His work has identified genetic factors that influence lung cancer risk and nicotine addiction, and he has published extensively on the genetic underpinnings of cancer. 

Associate Director for Shared Resources, UNM Cancer Center
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine

Dr. Samudio-Ruiz oversees the development of all eight shared resources, set the direction for new technological acquisitions, and help to procure new equipment to carry out UNM Cancer Center research initiatives. She previously held the position of Senior Lab Operations Manager at the UNM Cancer Research Facility and served as a Research Assistant Professor in the UNM College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a doctorate in Biomedical Sciences from the University of New Mexico. Her research focused on cancer epigenetics, particularly epigenetic alterations associated with the development of platinum resistance in ovarian cancer.