Andrew Godwin, Professor and Division Director, Genomic Diagnostics, Founding Director, Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, Deputy Director, KU Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center
Andrew Godwin Biographical Sketch
Andrew K. Godwin, PhD is the Chancellors Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences endowed Professor and the Director of Molecular Oncology in the Department of Pathology at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). He is a leader in the field of translational research and precision medicine. A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Dr. Godwin graduated with highest distinction from the University of Kansas (KU) with a bachelor’s degree in Cellular Biology. He obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania while carrying out his thesis research at Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC) in Philadelphia. While at FCCC he had the pleasure of learning from “giants” in their respective fields of cancer-focused science. He was appointed leader of the FCCC’s Cancer Center Support Grant Ovarian Cancer Program in 2008 and served as co-leader of the Women's Cancer Program from 2009 to 2010. He was the founding director of both the Clinical Molecular Genetics/Pathology Laboratory and the Biosample Repository at FCCC since their inception in 1995 and 1999 respectively, and until leaving FCCC.
Dr. Godwin was recruited to KUMC as the director of Molecular Oncology and as the Associate Director for Translational Research within the KU Cancer Center in October 2010 after 26 productive years at FCCC. His engaged participation in the cancer center led to being appointed the Deputy Director in 2013 and his unwavering efforts helped to gain NCI designation in 2012/2017 and comprehensive designation in 2022. He founded the Clinical Molecular Oncology Laboratory, a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited molecular diagnostics laboratory in 2012. He was appointed the Division Director for Genomic Diagnostic for the KU Health System in 2020. He also founded the Center for Genetics Services and Health Equity, to address health disparities in medical underserved populations regionally and nationally.
Dr. Godwin holds secondary appointments as a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, and the Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, and Immunology. He also leads the ovarian cancer research-working group, is a member of the Investigator Initiated Trial Steering Committee, serves as the founding Scientific Director for the Biomarker Discovery Laboratory, the Director of the KU Cancer Center’s Biospecimen Shared Resource, and the KU Medical Center’s Biospecimen Repository Core Facility. He was named the Vice Chair for the Breast Translational Medicine subcommittee of the Southwest Oncology Group in 2018 and was appointed to the National Cancer Institute’s NCTN Core Correlative Sciences Committee in 2021.
Dr. Godwin heads KU’s institutional efforts in precision medicine. In 2016 he founded the Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine which is currently supported by a Phase 2 Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (P20 GM130423) grant from the NIGMS. He is also a co-founder of a startup company, Sinochips Diagnostics, a private reference laboratory that provides pharmacogenomic testing to provide a road map for which drugs will be most effective for each individual patient.
He was named a Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar in 2010 and the University of Kansas School of Medicine Chancellor’s Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences Endowed Professor in 2012. In 2014, Dr. Godwin received the KUMC School of Medicine’s Achievement Award for the mentoring of post-doctorate students. Of his awards, he is most proud of being acknowledged for his years of mentoring. He has mentored over 150 trainees, including high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral associates/fellows, medical students/fellows, visiting scientists, and junior faculty during his academic career. He was awarded the KU Medical Center’s Faculty Investigator Research Award in 2015, the University of Kansas Cancer Center Director’s William Jewell Team Science Award in 2017, the KUCC Director’s Basic Science Award and the Chancellor’s Club Award for Research in 2018, and the Dolph C. Simons, Sr. Higuchi Award in the Biomedical Sciences in 2020 – the state higher education system’s most prestigious recognition for scholarly excellence. Most recently, Godwin was presented with the 2021 KU School of Medicine Excellences in Mentoring (Faculty) award and the 2021 Cancer Center Director’s Award in Mentoring and was named the 2022 Lead Scholar in Biomedical Sciences by the Ewha Womans University in South Korea. Most recently he presented the 2024 Outstanding Mentorship in Pathology Award by the University School of Medicine and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in recognition of dedication to the mentorship and education of future pathologists.
Dr. Godwin is internationally recognized for his molecular biology/genetic studies of sarcoma (gastrointestinal stromal tumors and Ewing sarcoma), breast and ovarian cancer, and his efforts to help bridge the gap between basic and clinical science to improve patient care. As a result of his efforts, Dr. Godwin has been continuously since his first faculty appointment at the Fox Chase (in 1993) and has secured extramural funding totaling >$250M. He has published over 550 peer-reviewed manuscripts and scholarly review articles (h index = 143; >95,000 citations) and is the author of 4 patent applications.
