Lebanon Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth announced the hiring of a new leader for Norris Cotton Cancer Center in a release on Thursday.

Dr. Steven Leach, 57, a surgical oncologist, comes to Norris Cotton from the David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

His new position will include overseeing cancer research at Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, as well as the cancer care that is provided throughout Dartmouth-Hitchcocks health system.

Both D-H and Dartmouth officials welcomed Leach in Thursdays release.

Dr. Leach is a world renowned pancreatic cancer specialist with significant interest in the biology, models, and mechanisms of cancer development and in genomic research to perform sequencing and analysis of the cell types involved in human pancreatic cancer, said Dr. James Weinstein, D-Hs outgoing chief executive.

He will lead Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the Cancer Center into a new era of research and discovery at the molecular level that will benefit patients for generations to come.

At Geisel, where Leach will hold the title of Preston T. and Virginia R. Kelsey Distinguished Chair in Cancer, the schools dean Dr. Duane Compton said, I look forward to working with (Leach) to grow our cancer-related research programs across Dartmouth and build on our outstanding cancer clinical care through Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

Leach will be the first permanent director of the center since former director Mark Israel left the post last fall. Chris Amos, the chairman of Geisels biomedical data science department, has served as interim director since October.

Leach was drawn to the position at Norris Cotton because of the opportunity to work throughout the region in with a multidisciplinary focus in collaboration with researchers at Geisel, D-H and Dartmouth College to push scientific envelopes, he said, in a phone interview on Thursday afternoon.

While hes in the midst of transitioning to the center, Leach said hes deeply involved in a crash course in all things Dartmouth ... issues and opportunities.

Leach comes to the job amid controversy about how funds raised for cancer research were spent. In October, Israel filed a lawsuit against Dartmouth-Hitchcock, alleging that he was ousted in an act of illegal retaliation after he objected to the diversion of $6 million raised for cancer research, including $1.6 million raised from The Prouty, Norris Cottons signature fundraising event.

D-H subsequently asked Grafton County Superior Court Judge Lawrence A. MacLeod Jr. to move the case to arbitration and, in April, MacLeod agreed. MacLeod has not yet ruled on a motion Israel filed last month seeking permission to file an amended suit.

Separately, Thomas Donovan, the director of the Charitable Trusts Unit in the New Hampshire Attorney Generals Office, concluded in January that D-H had not violated the law in 2015 when it spent money from donors on salary, equipment and occupancy costs associated with research.

And in February, cancer center officials announced in a Valley News op-ed a pledge that supporters donations will be used only for activities related to research and patient care, as well as governance guidelines written into a new agreement between D-H and Dartmouth College that clarify the authority of the centers director, who is a joint employee of both organizations.

For his part, Leach said he is aware of the issues relating to the way these funds were spent, but he has full confidence in the leadership of the two organizations moving forward.

Im confident in the leadership there that weve got everything in place, he said.

Leach himself is an enthusiastic fundraiser and he looks forward to connecting with people to tell the story of the wonderful science thats being done at Dartmouth.

(Its) something I really enjoy, he said.

Leach brings experiences as a researcher, teacher and clinician to the position.

He has served as the director for Sloan Ketterings pancreatic research center since it opened in 2014. He is also a professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.

Prior to coming to New York, Leach worked at Johns Hopkins University where he was a professor of pancreatic cancer research, surgery, oncology and cell biology, and chief of the division of surgical oncology.

At heart, Leach said he is a physician scientist, who began as a surgeon operating on all kinds of cancer patients and moved into research, teaching and administrative roles.

Leach holds a bachelors degree in biology from Princeton University and a medical degree from Emory University. He did a residency in general surgery and a post-doctoral research fellowship at Yale University, and a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

He recently completed a term on Princetons board of trustees and serves as chairman of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Networks Scientific and Medical Advisory Board.

He expects to start the new position in September, but will be in the Upper Valley biking 50 miles in The Prouty on July 8.

Im looking forward to coming up and experiencing The Prouty, Leach said.

Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.

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Norris Cotton Cancer Center Announces New Chief From NY - Valley News