Richard A. Van Etten, MD, PhD
Hematology-Oncology, Internal Medicine
Dr. Richard Van Etten is a board-certified, fellowship-trained UCI Health hematologist and oncologist who specializes in the treatment of leukemia and other blood cancers. His clinical focus also includes hematopoetic stem cell transplant services.
He is the director of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he leads a team of more than 250 physicians, basic and translational scientists conducting cancer research at UC Irvine.
Van Etten received a medical degree and a PhD in biophysics from the Stanford University School of Medicine, where he worked with biochemist David F. Clayton, PhD, on the molecular genetics of mammalian mitochondrial DNA and brain development. He went on to complete a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology at Harvard School of Medicine and Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Next he worked as a visiting scientist in the lab of Nobel laureate David Baltimore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Whitehead Institute in Boston.
He joined the Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital as a faculty member of the departments of Medicine and Genetics. In 2003, he became a professor of Medicine at Tufts Medical Center and director of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at Tufts Cancer Center, eventually becoming chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology. In 2009, he was named director of the Tufts Cancer Center.
Van Etten became director of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center on Oct. 1, 2013 and a professor of Medicine and Biochemistry in the UCI School of Medicine. Under his leadership, the cancer center's comprehensive cancer center designation has been renewed twice by the National Cancer Institute. He is the author of more than 150 scientific articles, reviews and book chapters. His research lab, which is funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute, investigates the molecular pathogenesis of leukemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms with an emphasis on dysregulated tyrosine kinases and mouse model systems.
Nickname: Rick
Services:
Clinical Interests:
acute leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, immune therapy, lymphoblastic leukemia, molecularly targeted drug therapy
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Go to Patient PortalBackground
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Professional Positions
- Director — UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Chao Family Endowed Chair, Cancer Research and Treatment — UC Irvine
- Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry — UCI School of Medicine
- Senior Associate Dean, Cancer — UCI School of Medicine
- Associate Vice Chancellor, Cancer — Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences
- Fellow — American College of Physicians
- Member — American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Member — American Society of Hematology
- Member — American Society of Clinical Oncology
- Member — Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, Leukemia Committee
- Member — Medical Oncology Association of Southern California
- Editorial Board Member — Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Contributing Editor — UpToDate®
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Gender
Male -
Awards
- Physicians of Excellence, Orange County Medical Association — 2019-2023
- Janey Rowley Prize, 2015 — International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation
- Zucker Family Research Prize, 2008 — Tufts University School of Medicine
- Stohlman Scholar, 2003 — The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- Laurie Strauss Leukemia Foundation Lecturer, 2000 — Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Leukemia and Lymphoma Scholar, 1998-2003 — The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- Carl and Margaret Walter Scholar in Blood Research, 1994-2003 — Harvard Medical School
- Markey Scholar Award, 1990-1997 — Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust
- Cancer Research Scholar Award, 1989-1992 — American Cancer Society
- Malcolm B. Hecht Fellowship, 1987-1988 — Brigham & Women's Hospital
- Medical Scientist Training Program Fellowship, 1978-1984 — National Institutes of Health
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Board Certifications
American Board of Internal Medicine -
Residencies
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Harvard Medical School
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Languages Spoken
English
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Fellowships
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Harvard Medical School
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Education
- Stanford University School of Medicine
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Academic Profile