Wallace Akerley, MD
Dr. Wallace Akerley is a noted medical oncologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, Utah. He specializes in thoracic oncology, with particular interest in lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and other thoracic malignancies.
He is currently chairman of Huntsman’s Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee, Director of the Lung Cancer Disease Center of Excellence, and a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Steering Committee for Small Cell Lung Cancer Panel and its Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Panel.[1]
Education and Career
Dr. Akerley graduated with a bachelor of science in Engineering degree from Boston University, then went on to earn his medical degree from Brown University. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Southern California, followed by a fellowship there in Oncology and another fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.[1]
Following the completion of his education, Dr. Akerley joined the faculty at Brown University as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and later became Interim Chief of Medical Oncology. He then assumed the role of Chief of Medical Oncology at Boston University before accepting the position of Director of Thoracic Oncology at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. He also served as Director of Clinical Trials and Outcome Studies for Huntsman’s Cancer Care Program, the Senior Director of Clinical Research, the Director of the Utah Cancer Registry, and the Senior Director of Community Oncology Research.[2]
Professional Memberships and Activities
Dr. Akerley is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Steering Committee for Small Cell Lung Cancer Panel. He is Chair of the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee of the Huntsman Cancer Institute’s Research Leadership Council.[1]
Research
Dr. Akerley has spent much of his forty-plus years as a medical oncologist engaged in clinical research trials aimed at improving outcomes for patients diagnosed with non-small and small cell lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, and other thoracic malignancies. He is frequently invited to present the findings of his research at national and international conferences and has been published extensively in highly esteemed medical journals and publications.[1]
Some of his recently published work includes:[3]
TTFields therapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC) with progression on/after platinum-based therapy: histology subgroups in the pivotal LUNAR study. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. 11. 691-691. 10.1136/jitc-2023-SITC2023.0607. Ward, Jeffrey & Leal, Ticiana & Kotecha, Rupesh & Ramlau, Rodryg & Zhang, Li & Milanowski, Janusz & Dols, Manuel & Roubec, Jaromir & Petruzelka, Lubos & Havel, Libor & Kalmadi, Sujith & Andric, Zoran & Berghmans, Thierry & Gerber, David & Kloecker, Goetz & Panikkar, Rajiv & Aerts, Joachim & Delmonte, Angelo & Pless, Miklos & Langer, Corey. (2023). 607
Mesothelioma: Peritoneal, Version 2.2023, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. 21. 961-979. 10.6004/jnccn.2023.0045. Ettinger, David & Wood, Douglas & Stevenson, James & Aisner, Dara & Akerley, Wallace & Bauman, Jessica & Bharat, Ankit & Bruno, Debora & Chang, Joe & Chirieac, Lucian & DeCamp, Malcolm & Dilling, Thomas & Dowell, Jonathan & Durm, Gregory & Gettinger, Scott & Grotz, Travis & Gubens, Matthew & Hegde, Aparna & Lackner, Rudy & Hughes, Miranda. (2023).
A Real-World Analysis of the Use of Systemic Therapy in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma and the Differential Impacts on Overall Survival by Practice Pattern. JTO Clinical and Research Reports. 3. 100280.10.1016/j.jtocrr.2022.100280.Kerrigan, Kathleen & Jo, Yeonjung & Chipman, Jonathan & Haaland, Benjamin & Puri, Sonam & Akerley, Wallace & Patel, Shiven. (2022).
