Hollings Cancer Center chief shoots for the stars

When Dr. Andrew Kraft imagines what the Medical University of South Carolina’s Hollings Cancer Center will be a few years from now, he sees something big.

As big as the whole state, in fact.

Kraft, who took over as director of the center in late June, plans to make cancer prevention and treatment affiliate programs throughout the Palmetto State one of his top goals. That means bringing cutting-edge treatments, drugs, and the skills of medical professionals from MUSC to cancer patients right where they live, and hopefully, slashing the state’s daunting cancer rates.

That plan and a few other ambitious projects will be key to securing a National Cancer Institute designation for the Hollings center, which would put MUSC in the top tier of U.S. hospitals treating and researching cancer and carry millions of dollars in grants each year.

Kraft, 54, comes to Charleston from his post at the University of Colorado Cancer Center in the midst of a $39.9 million expansion to consolidate all of MUSC’s cancer research and outpatient care under one building.

Kraft spoke to the public about his new role for the first time at a Tuesday afternoon press conference, and he said he’s excited to be stepping into his new role at such a pivotal time for the university.

For him, it means new challenges as a doctor, but for the people of South Carolina, Kraft said, the cancer center means greater resources for the disease that will strike more than 21,000 state residents this year.

“We have to view the Hollings Cancer Center as a huge resource for the state, and directly, for Charleston,” Kraft said. “We can give patients excellent care, and hopefully provide them with cutting-edge cures.”

Among Kraft’s other goals for the cancer center:

— Joining with the College of Pharmacy and the pharmacology department to build an institute for cancer drug development. Translational research — bringing treatments out of the lab and to the bedside — would be the institute’s chief priority.

— Beefing up research on smoking-related cancers of the lung, head, neck and bladder, as well as hormone-dependent malignancies such as those of the breast, ovarian and prostate.

— Recruiting outstanding medical oncologists and researchers, which will be crucial for attaining an NCI designation.When Dr. Carolyn Reed, the center’s former director, announced her resignation last April, MUSC leaders set out to find a candidate who had helped shepherd other facilities toward the coveted NCI designation.

Kraft’s work at the University of Colorado and at the University of Alabama’s Comprehensive Cancer Center proves that he has an eye for helping institutions progress to bigger and better things, said Dr. Jerry Reves, dean of the MUSC College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs.

“We needed somebody who has understood what the NCI designation means — who has lived it, breathed it, knows it,” he said.

Also important was finding a medical oncologist to lead the project, Reves said. Reed, who remains at the center as deputy director for outreach, is a cardiothoracic surgeon, whereas most NCI-designated centers across the country are led by doctors with specific cancer expertise.

MUSC officials are particularly impressed with Kraft’s recruiting skills, and they’re eager to have him on board as they begin a nationwide search for professionals to help lift the Hollings center to a spot as one of the nation’s premier cancer treatment facilities.

Like a good football player who can shine for any team he signs with, Reves said, Kraft will carry his proven recruitment abilities with him to his new post.

“He took over a very small and marginally successful division at the University of Colorado and recruited a lot of excellent people and built it up,” Reves said. “Their careers have flourished under his leadership.”

As the Hollings Cancer Center’s growth continues, the university will be attractive to faculty and researchers at all phases of their careers, said MUSC President Dr. Ray Greenberg.

“For senior people hitting the peak of their game and looking for place to settle down, Charleston is very attractive,” he said. “For younger people, if you want to come to a developing program and help lay the foundation for the future, this is a place where you can really make a difference.”

Kraft is a graduate of Bucknell University and the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school. He has trained as a fellow at the National Cancer Institute. He lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife, Katherine, a geriatric social worker. They have three children.