Dr. Colin Weekes

Colin Weekes, MD, PhD, is the incumbent Christopher Horner Chair in Pancreatic Cancer Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he serves as Director, Medical Oncology Research for Pancreatic Cancer in the Tucker Gosnell Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers. He is an Associate Professor at the Harvard Medical School.

After finishing high school at AHS in 1988, Colin received his undergraduate degree in biology at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He subsequently transitioned to the University of Nebraska Medical Center and obtained a Doctorate of Philosophy. His thesis focused on aspects of Lymphoma biology. He then completed his Medical Degree in 2000. It was during this time that he met his wife Elizabeth Weekes, who trained as a Pharmacist at UNMC. His time at UNMC was a tremendous period of personal growth. He then went to University of Alabama Birmingham to complete his training in Internal Medicine. His time in Alabama honed his passion for the application of science to the development of novel therapies to treat disease and the importance of the equitable application of health care to all individuals. These tenants led Colin to the next chapter in his medical journey.

Next, Elizabeth and Colin moved to Baltimore where obtained Medical Oncology training at Johns Hopkins University. Johns Hopkins was where he was introduced to pancreatic cancer and the complex nature of the care of patients afflicted with this disease. He was also introduced to drug development during his oncology training in Baltimore. At that time, he was working in a laboratory to develop therapeutic strategies to treat patients with pancreatic cancer. After completion of fellowship training, Colin took his first job at the University of Colorado. He started his job on July 1st and in August he was back in Alliance at his 20-year high school reunion. “Go class of ’88!!” The University of Colorado is where Colin learned to write and conduct first-in-human phase I clinical trials of novel cancer drugs. In addition, he worked to build his own research laboratory focused on pancreatic cancer biology.
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In 2017, Colin and Elizabeth moved to Boston and Colin took his current position as Director, Pancreatic Cancer Research in Heme/Onc at Massachusetts General Hospital. In this role, he works with a team of medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, surgeons and laboratory scientist to develop novel treatment strategies for patients afflicted with all stages of pancreatic cancer. He has designed and conduct numerous clinical trials representing all phases of clinical investigation. In addition to this work, he is a staunch advocate of equitable care of patients. As such, Colin is the Department of Medicine Equity Director in the Heme/Onc Division. He is now embarking on initiative to bring equitable cancer care to underserved populations throughout the United States and the world. This work is focused on leveraging partnerships with the American Society of Clinical Oncology and American Association for Cancer Research. Colin plans to meld his scientific interest with his desire to promote cancer equity in the next chapter of his career.