I am Director, UCSF Pancreas Center and Leader of the UCSF Pancreas Cancer Program. My research career has focused on pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, especially in the area of investigational therapeutics. I was a pioneer in the use of antibody-based therapies and helped develop the fixed dose rate concept for gemcitabine. My group has developed effective gemcitabine combinations and provided a foundation for using CA19-9 as a surrogate for survival in clinical trials, and currently is assessing molecular subtypes and molecular enrichment for selecting new drugs for clinical evaluation. I directed the first GI SPORE devoted to pancreatic cancer when I was on the faculty of the University of Nebraska and subsequently led the NCI-funded U54 Molecular Target Assessment Team at UCSF. I also organized the first Pancreas Cancer Think Tank in 1999 and co-led the NCI sponsored Progress Review Group on Pancreatic Cancer in 2000. I have served as the Chair of the NCCN Guidelines Panel on Pancreatic Cancer since 2000. I also serve as co-chair on the Pancreas Task Force Tissue Acquisition Working Group for the NCI intergroup and co-organized the State of the Science meeting on pancreatic cancer at the NCI.