Some episodes are more personal than others. Today's guest is Dr. Leon Platanias, Director, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University. Northwestern happens to be my alma mater, and I first met Leon in early 2014 when he was named interim director of the cancer center.
After graduating Northwestern, I met my late wife Maureen (for whom the Team Powdered Donut™ podcast and road trip are dedicated) at Apple in the late 1980s in Chicago. Steve Jobs once said at a commencement address to Stanford University that you can't connect the dots looking forward. You just have to trust your passion. And when you look back, you'll see how the dots connect. That is definitely the case with how I met Leon. Just months earlier, I had finished the last of three TEDx talks just outside of Dublin, Ireland, having traveled to Malaysia, then Rome, and finally Dublin in under a week.
One of my fellow speakers in Dublin was named president of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in the months to follow. When I came up to Chicago to visit, he had invited Leon to our meeting. I've been blessed by over a decade of friendship with Leon, as well as blessed by his help back in 2014 getting a second opinion from one of Lurie's leading breast cancer oncologists, Dr. William Gradishar. Maureen's breast cancer had metastasized at that point, and I wanted as many perspectives as possible on what to do next for her. You will quickly discover Leon's humble spirit as you listen to this episode. However, as a Northwestern alum, I can't help but brag on all that he has done for Lurie, leading them to the National Cancer Institute's highest rating of exceptional over more than a decade as Lurie's director. Lurie is not only exceptional, but Leon is too. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Who is Leon Platanias?
Leonidas C. Platanias, MD, PhD, leads the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University in Chicago, a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Centers Network (NCCN). He is the Jesse, Sara, Andrew, Abigail, Benjamin and Elizabeth Lurie Professor of Oncology and Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. Since Dr. Platanias became director in 2014, the Lurie Cancer Center has experienced dramatic growth, doubling its NCI funding and recruiting over 160 new faculty members. Under his leadership, the Lurie Cancer Center received the highest rating in its history, an overall “exceptional” ranking in both the 2018 and 2025 NCI comprehensive designation NCI renewals.
Dr. Platanias was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He earned his medical degree from the University of Patras Medical School in Greece. He subsequently moved to the US and began his research career at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, as a Fogarty Fellow studying the immune mechanisms of bone marrow failure syndromes. He subsequently moved to New York City where he completed his residency in Internal Medicine and eventually to Chicago where he completed his fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at the University of Chicago. He joined Northwestern in 2002, initially as Deputy Director and eventually as Director of the Lurie Cancer Center in 2014. Prior to joining Northwestern, he was Professor and Chief of the Division of Hematology Oncology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Dr. Platanias is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology, with clinical expertise in leukemia. Dr. Platanias’ research work focuses on cytokine signaling pathways in malignant cells, with translational applications in leukemia and brain tumors. He has published more than 390 papers with an h-index of 100. In addition to being the principal investigator of the largest institutional grant (CCSG) at Northwestern, he has been principal investigator of multiple NIH R01 grants and has been continuously funded by the NIH for over 30 years. He has made significant contributions in the interferon and cytokine signaling field for 3 decades. His early work on interferon signaling, along with the work of others, led to discoveries that helped define the modern cancer immunotherapy field and resulted in clinical applications for the treatment of malignancies. He has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Seymour and Vivian Milstein Award for outstanding contributions in cytokine research and the Leadership 100 Excellence Award.
Dr. Platanias previously served as President of the International Cytokine and Interferon Society and he was an elected member of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) Board of Directors. He serves as Editor for several oncology and immunology journals and has been a chair or member of several study sections and site visit teams for the NIH, including more recently the NCI Subcommittee A for Cancer Centers. He has also served as chair or member of several grant panels for the US Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and currently serves as Chair of several external advisory boards for NCI-designated cancer centers across the country.
