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UF COMJ to welcome Alex Parker, PhD, as its new research dean

Alex Parker, PhD, is the new senior associate dean for research at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville.

Alex Parker, PhD, will soon join the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville as its new senior associate dean for research.

Parker, who begins Oct. 1, is coming from Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, where he was a professor of epidemiology and urology and held several leadership positions. He served as vice chair of health sciences research, associate director of the Center for Individualized Medicine, associate medical director of development and a co-program leader for genetic epidemiology.

His research centers on the molecular and clinical epidemiology of urologic cancers, with a primary focus on kidney cancer. His work has focused on understanding the environmental and molecular mechanisms that support kidney cancer development and aggressiveness and helping physicians translate that knowledge into better, more-individualized patient care. The National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the state of Florida have funded these efforts.  

“We are thrilled to soon welcome Dr. Parker to campus,” said Leon L. Haley Jr., MD, MHSA, dean of UF COMJ and CEO of UF Health Jacksonville. “As we continue to expand our research efforts, we sought someone with a dynamic background, a strong research portfolio and experience leading large-scale initiatives. Dr. Parker is the perfect fit, and we look forward to having him guide our research efforts.” 

Parker earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his master’s in preventive medicine and environmental health and his PhD in epidemiology from the University of Iowa. He then completed an R25 postdoctoral training fellowship in epidemiology at Mayo Clinic.

Parker has served on NIH study sections and is a standing member of the Texas Cancer Prevention Research Institute study section. Multiple times he has chaired study sections for the Department of Defense and the Canadian Cancer Society. He has also chaired sessions at the international meeting of the American Urological Association and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Parker is an associate editor of the American Journal of Epidemiology and the BMC Urology journal. He has served on several national advisory boards and committees, including the American College of Epidemiology and the Kidney Cancer Association.