As Scientific Director of the Biochemistry and Immunology of Cancer program in the Extramural Discovery Sciences department, Douglas Hurst, PhD, oversees peer review and grants management in areas related to DNA and RNA mechanisms, immunology and blood cell development, and tumor biochemistry and endocrinology. Hurst also manages the Mission Boost Grant program that specifically supports translational research projects that move into human testing and the EDS Accelerator program that supports commercialization of research projects. Prior to joining ACS, Dr. Hurst was an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where he directed a research program investigating the molecular mechanisms regulating tumor progression. His studies have included basic molecular and cellular biology techniques using both in vitro and in vivo model systems to characterize the structural and functional units of chromatin complexes that epigenetically regulate gene transcription. He published over 60 peer-reviewed papers and has been an invited speaker at many institutes across the globe. He served on numerous grant review study sections and chaired sessions for the Department of Defense and ACS. He is passionate for training the next generation of scientists having developed courses for the Cancer Biology theme at UAB and serving on more than 40 graduate student thesis committees. Dr. Hurst is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War. He served onboard the fast-attack submarine USS Grayling (SSN-646) as a SCUBA diver and nuclear mechanic.