Dr. Vilar-Sanchez is Professor and Chair ad interim of the Department of Cancer Prevention at MD Anderson. He is a physician-scientist and a medical oncologist by training with clinical expertise in hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes and colorectal medical oncology. Dr. Vilar-Sanchez’s research efforts are focused in developing novel cancer interception strategies including vaccines and chemopreventive agents, and early detection methods for patients at high-risk for colorectal cancer development. The Vilar-Sanchez laboratory has characterized the genomic and transcriptomic landscape of pre-cancers using next-generation sequencing approaches and has identified novel targets for interception. In parallel, his research team has applied systematically this same workflow to genetically engineered mouse models that mimic the natural history of hereditary colorectal cancer syndromes to perform cross-species comparisons and validate these novel preventive agents and biomarkers. The laboratory has teamed with other groups to develop ex vivo models that better recapitulate the biology of normal mucosa and premalignancy. In the field of clinical research, Dr. Vilar-Sanchez has designed, implemented and participated in several investigator-initiated clinical trials for early drug development in cancer interception including vaccines and immune-modulators.