Dr. Stephen Pandol is an internationally recognized authority in exocrine pancreatic cellular physiology and mechanism of disease. He holds the position of Professor in the Department of Medicine at UCLA, where he leads the Pancreatic Research Program. He is also Co-Director of the NIAAA-sponsored USC-UCLA Research Center for Alcoholic Liver and Pancreatic Diseases, and is in charge of the pancreatic diseases section. He is an active member of the research community and has served on editorial boards (Gastroenterology at present, and Journal of Clinical Investigation and American Journal of Physiology in the recent past).

Dr Pandol is an active member of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Research Committee. He also plays an integral role in developing teaching materials and national programs through the Gastroenterology Teaching Project, in which he has participated for 10 years. Dr. Pandol has served as the Chief of Gastroenterology at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Diego, CA (1992-1995), the Director of Research and Development at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA (1996-1999), and the Former Councilor of the American Society Clinical Investigation.

Dr. Pandol, an Associate Director of the NIAAA-funded USC-UCLA Research Center on Alcoholic Hepatic and Pancreatic Injury, and his group are now engaged in investigating the role of alcohol in pancreatic disease. Dr. Pandol serves as the link between the resources of that Center and this Pancreatic Cancer SPORE.

More recently, Dr. Pandol has turned his attention to investigations designed to reveal key mechanisms underlying both the survivability of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and strategies to make the cancer cell susceptible to death. He is using this ability to focus on key issues underlying the mechanism of disease in his approach to pancreatitis. This type of effort will allow a rapid and efficient approach to the development of effective treatment and preventative strategies for pancreatic cancer. His depth of experience and supportive mind-set are balanced by a novel approach to research and problem solving.