About

Daniel V.T. Catenacci Individual Bio

 

Dr. Daniel V.T. Catenacci's career as an adult gastrointestinal Medical Oncologist started after 15 years of extensive education, including a Bachelor’s degree with honors in Science at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Canada; a Doctorate of Medicine at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan;  Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in Westwood, California; then Medical Oncology Fellowship training at the University of Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois. He ultimately became a specialist in Medical Oncology with a focus on Gastrointestinal cancers. Throughout his education, he participated in several unique programs where he developed a broad background in laboratory and clinical translational research, including at the Harvard Institute of Medicine and the University of Chicago, where he obtained a Masters of Science in Biostatistics and Clinical Investigation. His primary clinical and research focus has been on gastroesophageal cancers and other gastrointestinal cancers, including pancreatic, hepatobiliary (liver and bile duct), colorectal, and neuroendocrine cancers, where he has been able to conduct both basic and clinical research in the field.

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Daniel V.T. Catenacci has previously served as the Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology program at the University of Chicago, where he provided clinical care for cancer patients, conducted basic and clinical research, and trained clinical and laboratory personnel, including fellows and residents, as well as medical, undergraduate and postgraduate students.   He contributed unique discoveries in cancer research, including developing tools to assess and quantify molecular (genomic and proteomic) heterogeneity, both between individuals as well as within a given individual’s tumor, which has led to innovative new approaches enabling the implementation of novel therapies based on these biological aspects of tumors.

 

Current Role and Duties

 

As the founder of Catenacci Consulting Limited in 2012, Daniel V.T. Catenacci MD provides unique perspectives on medical issues within his area of expertise and can lend his research skills to various projects. Dr. Catenacci provides consultancy work for biotech and pharmaceutical companies concerning product development and validation, both analytically and clinically. He helps with the strategic positioning of novel compounds and devices, including phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trial development and design, particularly with regulatory approval goals.  In addition to helping with such project development, Dr. Catenacci also uses his consulting firm to manage other endeavors in the medical field, such as lectures and speaking events, medical-legal consultation and reviews, and online second clinical opinions for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. He has been at the helm of the enterprise for over 10 years.

 

Career History

 

Daniel V.T. Catenacci served as the Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology program at the University of Chicago Medicine and the Assistant Director of Translational Research in the Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Daniel V.T. Catenacci has held positions at the University of Chicago Medicine for over 15 years, starting as a fellow in Hematology and Medical Oncology from 2006 to 2010. He then joined the faculty at the University of Chicago as an Instructor in the Department of Medicine from 2010 to June 2012 before becoming an Assistant Professor of Medicine. In 2019, he became an Associate Professor of Medicine and held the position through January 2022.

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For much of that time, Daniel V.T. Catenacci also worked at the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center as a Pharmacogenomics and Experimental Therapeutics member and later as an Assistant Director of Translational Research. He also worked as Associate Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program and later the Interdisciplinary Director in the same area, where he oversaw the clinical and translational research enterprise for gastrointestinal cancers. 

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Academic History

 

With his multi-pronged effort toward clinical care, research, and teaching, Daniel V.T. Catenacci completed a number of degrees and participated in several academic programs. In 1999, he earned his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the University of Waterloo before attending the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, from 1999 to 2003. From 2003 to 2006, Daniel V.T. Catenacci completed his Internship and Residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Internal Medicine Residency Program. He then completed a Hematology and Medical Oncology fellowship at the University of Chicago Medicine. He is board certified in Medical Oncology. From 2011 to 2013, he obtained a Master of Science in Health Studies: Biostatistics, Clinical and Translational Investigation.

In 2000, Daniel V.T. Catenacci completed a Summer Research Fellowship in Laboratory Investigation as an NIH-T35 Fellow at Harvard Medical School between his first and second years at Wayne State University School of Medicine. In 2007, he completed the AACR American Association for Cancer Research “Molecular Biology in Clinical Oncology” Workshop at the Given Institute of the University of Colorado, Aspen, Colorado.  In 2008, he also completed the Methods in Clinical Cancer Research workshop in Flims, Switzerland, during his Oncology Fellowship training and the Summer Workshops in Molecular Biology, New England Biolabs Smith College, Clark Science Center, Northampton, Massachusetts. In 2017, he completed the American Association of Immunologists AAI “Advanced Course in Immunology” in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Professional Skills and Experience

 

Daniel V.T. Catenacci’s clinical focus is the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, with a primary focus on cancers of the esophagus, gastroesophageal junction, and stomach. His research focuses on validating and improving the application of personalized care for patients with cancer, including novel customized diagnostics and treatments, targeted therapies and immunotherapies, to advance precision medicine in curative and metastatic settings.

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Daniel V.T. Catenacci has served on Clinical Trials Research Committee (CTRC) and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Chicago from 2010-2016. He served on various Grant Review Committees, including the AACR GI Cancer Research Grants Scientific Review Committee. He served on several independent Data and Safety Monitoring Boards  (DSMBs) and Steering Committees of clinical trials. Daniel V.T. Catenacci served on the Esophago-Gastric NCI Task Force for the ALLIANCE NCI Cooperative Group from 2012-2017 and served as the Vice Chair of the GI Translational Medicine Subcommittee for the NCI Southwestern Oncology Group (SWOG) 2020-2022.

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In his career, Daniel V.T. Catenacci has held many honorary positions and served on various boards and committees, including serving on expert panels to derive consensus statements and guidelines for clinical care of gastroesophageal cancers. He also served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of American Medical Association Network Open (JAMA Netw Open) and an editorial board member for the journals Journal of Clinical Oncology Precision Oncology (JCO PO), Cancer, and Cancers. He has served as an Ad hoc Reviewer for numerous prestigious journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Cancer Cell, Nature Reviews, Cancer Discovery, Lancet Oncology, JAMA Oncology, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. 

 

 

Accomplishments and Achievements

 

The overarching goal of Daniel V.T. Catenacci’s vocation is to improve the clinical outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer, focusing on gastroesophageal cancers and other GI cancers. This includes developing strategies to prevent cancer development or identify cancers earlier in their course. Dr. Catenacci has published numerous original research articles, reviews, editorials, commentaries, book chapters, consensus statements, and treatment guidelines. An important contribution of Daniel V.T. Catenacci’s research has been quantifying tumor molecular heterogeneity - difference in genetic makeup of cancer between patients with the same cancer diagnosis, and even within a given patient from one site to another. With his groundbreaking and innovative trial, PANGEA (Personalized ANtibodies for GastroEsophageal Adenocarcinoma), the study provided the opportunity to assess multiple tumor sites within an individual to best match targeted therapies to optimize improved clinical outcomes. Daniel V.T. Catenacci’s contributions toward developing and validating circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) sequencing assays to spare patients from multiple biopsies have been instrumental in realizing the goal of such personalized treatment. Daniel V.T. Catenacci participated in developing and executing numerous clinical and translational studies in gastrointestinal cancers to advance the understanding of the biology and best therapy of these cancers, many of which have led to changes in treatment standards. A particularly proud aspect of Daniel V.T. Catenacci's contribution to the treatment of patients with cancer is to be considered the 'patient advocate' always placing the interests of patients and society above profits of pharmaceutical companies. 

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Daniel V.T. Catenacci has lectured at numerous invited events internationally regarding his novel research and educational lectures, including as a visiting Professor at multiple world-renowned Academic centers and various Oncology Meetings, including the annual meetings held by the American Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), European Society of Clinical Oncology (ESMO), and the Korean Cancer Association (KCA) and others. Daniel V.T. Catenacci is a key opinion leader in the field of gastrointestinal malignancies. 

Daniel V.T. Catenacci has volunteered his time and served on various Medical Advisory Committee Boards for 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, including Debbie’s Dream for Stomach Cancer Foundation (DDF), The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, the Esophageal Cancer Action Network (ECAN), and the Hope for Stomach Cancer Foundation. These foundations provide resources to patients, caregivers, and loved ones, promote early detection and prevention to the general and medical communities, and work to increase annual government research fund allocation for these gastrointestinal cancers. In recognition of his clinical care, research, and philanthropic service to the gastroesophageal cancer community, he was awarded the Tree of Life Medical Award from Debbie’s Dream Foundation (DDF) for stomach cancer in 2018.

 

 

 

Awards

 

The National Cancer Institute 2021 Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award is one of Daniel V.T. Catenacci’s recent accomplishments. The competitive award is limited to 8 to 12 awards and provides funding annually for two years. Supported activities include developing clinical trials, organizing courses and lectures, engaging fellows and faculty in collaborative clinical research, and much more. The evaluation process is strict and requires both personal and institutional commitment.

Daniel V.T. Catenacci has previously received many recognitions, including K-12 and then K-23 Career Development Awards from the National Cancer Institute, which fuel his PANGEA trial 2010-2017, as well as the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Team Science Award focusing on early detection and interception of diffuse and intestinal gastric cancer. He was a past recipient of the Tree of Life Medical Award from Debbie’s Dream Foundation (DDF) for stomach cancer in 2018, the ALLIANCE for Clinical Trials NCI Cooperative Group Young Investigator Award (YIA) in 2012, as well as the Cancer Research Foundation (CRF) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Young Investigator Awards (YIA) in 2009. 

Daniel V.T. Catenacci was named on Chicago’s Top Cancer Doctors List several times from 2016 onwards.

 

Daniel V.T. Catenacci graduated from his undergraduate and medical training with the highest honors. He was nominated for the Governor General’s Silver Medal and Alumni Gold Medal for the highest academic standing in the Faculty of Science in 1999. He was the recipient of the Sony of Canada Science Scholarship for highest academic standing in the Faculty of Science in 1998. He was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha AΩA Honor Medical Society after his second year of Medical School in 2001.