Katherine Van Loon

Katherine Van Loon, MD, MPH is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), specializing in Hematology/Oncology with a focus on gastrointestinal malignancies. Her research addresses the high incidence of esophageal cancer in East Africa, leading studies in Tanzania to identify environmental, genetic, and molecular risk factors. She co-founded the African Esophageal Cancer Consortium and serves on global oncology task forces (ASCO, Conquer Cancer Foundation). She has contributed to WHO guidelines and co-chaired the 2016 NCI Global Cancer Research Symposium.

Her expertise spans translational research, including vitamin D’s role in pancreatic cancer survival and advancements in diagnostic techniques like ultrasound-guided biopsy training in low-resource settings. She actively collaborates with international institutions to strengthen cancer care systems in Africa.

Key contributions include over 15 peer-reviewed publications since 2016, emphasizing global oncology, molecular oncology, and clinical trial design. Her work bridges clinical practice with public health initiatives to reduce cancer disparities worldwide.