Last Updated: 08/15/07
Sheila Taube, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Cancer Diagnosis Program
Sheila Taube, Ph.D., has served as Associate Director of the DCTD Cancer Diagnosis Program (CDP) since 1997. Under Dr. Taube’s leadership, CDP has launched the Program for the Assessment of Clinical Cancer Tests (PACCT), which is designed to ensure efficient and effective translation of new knowledge and technology related to cancer diagnosis into clinical practice. The first prospective trial of a molecular signature for risk of recurrence in early stage breast cancer, the TAILORx trial, was developed as part of PACCT and opened in 2006.
Prior to serving as Associate Director of CDP, Dr. Taube was program director for biochemistry and then Chief of the NCI Cancer Diagnosis Branch, the predecessor of the Cancer Diagnosis Program. In the Cancer Diagnosis Branch, Dr. Taube was instrumental in developing programs to use molecular technologies for cancer diagnosis.
Dr. Taube serves on the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Expert Panel to develop practice guidelines for the use of tumor markers for breast and colorectal cancer. She also contributed to a seminal paper in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute on the methodology of evaluating prognostic markers and co-edited a special issue of Seminars in Oncology devoted to tumor marker development. Dr. Taube collaborated with the Receptor and Biomarkers Group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) to launch the biannual series of international meetings called “Molecular Markers for Cancer: From Discovery to Clinical Practice.” In 2004, Dr. Taube and colleagues developed the syllabus for a short course for industry, “From Hypothesis to Product: An EORTC-NCI Diagnostics Development Tutorial.” In 2005, Dr. Taube and colleagues published three separate articles about PACCT and personalized medicine.
Dr. Taube received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Brandeis University and her doctorate in microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Following postdoctoral work at Yale University, she joined the faculty of the University of Connecticut Medical School, where she used a viral system to investigate cell membrane protein processing.
