Joshi Alumkal, MD

Wicha Family Professor of Oncology

Professor, Department of Internal Medicine

Section Head, Prostate and Genitourinary Medical Oncology

Associate Division Chief for Basic Research, Division of Hematology-Oncology

Member, Rogel Cancer Center

Director of Epigenetic Therapy, Michigan Center for Translational Pathology


Education

  • MD, Baylor College of Medicine

  • BA, Biology, University of Texas Austin

About

Dr. Alumkal spent most of his childhood and early adulthood in Texas. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Biology. Then, he received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed an internship, residency, and Chief residency at UT Southwestern Medical Center. After completing a clinical fellowship in Medical Oncology at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Alumkal completed a post-doctoral fellowship focused on cancer epigenetics in the Jim Herman Laboratory at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Alumkal joined the Knight Cancer Institute Prostate Cancer Research Program at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in 2007 and became the co-Leader of the Program in 2013. His basics science appointment was in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics at OHSU. In 2014, Dr. Alumkal was honored with the Richard T. Jones New Investigator Award for exceptional promise early in a career in biomedical research in Oregon. He was also named the inaugural holder of the Wayne D. Kuni and Joan E. Kuni Endowed Chair for Prostate Cancer Research at OHSU in 2017.

In 2019, Dr. Alumkal re-located to the University of Michigan to lead the Genitourinary Medical Oncology Section in the Division of Hematology-Oncology and the Rogel Cancer Center, where he is a Professor of Internal Medicine. He was named a Rogel Cancer Center Rogel Scholar in 2019.

Mentor who has altered my life: Dr. Daniel W. Foster, my Chairman of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern. He was a physician-scientist who excelled in laboratory research, patient care, and teaching. More than anyone else, Dr. Foster inspired me to become a physician-scientist and to dedicate myself to solving important problems that patients face. He passed away in 2018, but I still think of him often.

In my time off, I enjoy: Spending time with my family, watching/playing soccer, reading, and listening to far too many podcasts!

What profession, other than your own, would you enjoy? If I did not become a physician-scientist, I would have liked to be a history or philosophy professor or to have Terry Gross’ job on Fresh Air!