Associate Director for Clinical Affairs
Leigh A. Cantrell, MD, MSPH
Physician Lead, Oncology Service Line
Email: [email protected]
Leigh Cantrell, MD, MSPH, is the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center associate director for clinical affairs and physician lead for the UVA Health oncology service line. She is responsible for ensuring the oncology clinical enterprise functions support clinical and translational research.
She provides direction of clinical care services for the UVA Health Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center and UVA Health’s regional cancer sites of operation. In this role, she oversees the coordination of cancer care, promotes process improvement, optimizes quality and safety of cancer care, increases patient access, and enhances the patient experience across the cancer center.
Dr. Cantrell is a professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Since joining UVA Health in 2010, she has held multiple leadership roles. She is a leader in the field of robotic surgery and surgical research in the field of gynecologic oncology. Dr. Cantrell served as chair of the UVA Health Robotic Users Group from 2011 through 2023 and led transformational growth in the program, which includes many surgical oncologists. She served as the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s residency program director from 2013 to 2023 and the interim department chair from 2021 to 2022. She is now the department’s executive vice chair.
In addition to robotics, Dr. Cantrell’s research interests include high-risk uterine and cervical cancers. Her contributions to the field of gynecologic oncology have included the FIRES trial, which established sentinel lymph node biopsy for endometrial cancers, and the Lunchbox trial, which concluded to significant difference in sequencing of treatment for advanced stage endometrial cancers. The Gynecologic Oncology Division, of which Dr. Cantrell is a part, has been a consistent leader in clinical trial accrual, most recently ranking among the top recruiting divisions in the nation. Dr. Cantrell is currently the institutional principal investigator for a trial evaluating robotic vs. open radical hysterectomy for patients with early cervical cancer.
Dr. Cantrell serves on committees of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Society for Gynecologic Oncology, and the Council for Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG). She is a National Board examiner and a member of the CREOG Residents as Leaders and Teachers program. She previously served on the board of the Lorna Breen Foundation.