Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS, Appointed Deputy Director at Fox Chase Cancer Center

Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS, chief of the Division of Genitourinary Medical Oncology and professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been appointed Deputy Director.

“Conducting world-class cancer science is an integral part of our Fox Chase mission and identity as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Strong leadership in this area is critical to supporting our research enterprise and to promoting progress and success. That’s why I am so pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Plimack to this key position,” said Jonathan Chernoff, MD, PhD, Cancer Center Director at Fox Chase.

“Dr. Plimack’s work ethic, dedication to excellence, and clinical expertise will serve us all well as she assumes her vital new role.”

Plimack will oversee the Clinical and Translational Research Plan as she takes on this newly created role. Her primary areas of focus will include:

• Programmatic scientific strategy, in which she will lead the growth of interdisciplinary translational science by building alliances across clinical disciplines and among clinical and basic science research faculty both at Fox Chase and throughout Temple Health.
• Further development of the Fox Chase Bladder Cancer Program towards an integrated and collaborative research program by addressing NCI requirements for collaborative project funding and promoting the establishment of a Genitourinary Center of Excellence.
• Development of institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives by addressing DEI as an integral part of our Cancer Center Support Grant renewal and by improving the Fox Chase culture to aid retention and recruitment of women and Underrepresented in Medicine faculty and staff.

A national leader in genitourinary oncology, Plimack is director of Genitourinary Clinical Research at Fox Chase. She joined Fox Chase in 2008 after completing her medical oncology fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Internationally recognized for her expertise in bladder and kidney cancers, Plimack is a leader in clinical trial design and implementation. Her research has formed the basis of a biomarker-directed bladder preservation platform led by Fox Chase investigators.

She leads a Stand Up To Cancer-funded multicenter clinical trial in metastatic bladder cancer, and has been active in drug development on steering committees and data safety boards of trials that have led to the approval of multiple new agents used to treat patients with genitourinary malignancies.

Plimack earned her medical degree with honors in Pathology from New York University School of Medicine and a Master of Science in Patient-Based Biologic Research from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She completed both her internship and internal medicine residency at New York University Medical Center/Bellevue Hospital.

Among her many professional activities and leadership roles, Plimack is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Board of Directors, chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, and member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Board of Directors.

In addition, she is a member of the NCCN guidelines panels for kidney and bladder/penile cancers. Last year, she was appointed medical oncology editor of European Urology—the official journal of the European Association of Urology. She also serves on the editorial boards of Cancer and the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Consistently named a Philadelphia magazine Top Doctor, Plimack also appears regularly in Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors. She has also achieved status as a five-star provider—the highest possible rating for clinical care based on patient satisfaction data compiled by Press Ganey.

About Fox Chase Cancer Center
The Hospital of Fox Chase Cancer Center and its affiliates (collectively “Fox Chase Cancer Center”), a member of the Temple University Health System, is one of the leading cancer research and treatment centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence five consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center, that no one shall be excluded from or denied the benefits of or participation in the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.