Anirban Maitra is a professor of pathology and translational molecular pathology and the scientific director of the Sheikh Ahmed Pancreatic Cancer Research Center at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (since August 2013). He is the principal investigator of an NCI-funded laboratory dedicated to pancreatic cancer research. He has trained over three dozen postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, many of whom are now in independent faculty positions in the United States or worldwide. The arc of his research career has been defined by contributions made in the spheres of genetics and the molecular pathology of pancreatic cancer and its precursor lesions in both human and cognate mouse models of pancreatic neoplasia. He is deeply committed to identifying and implementing translational research opportunities in pancreatic cancer that can improve the survival of patients stricken with this disease, with a particular focus on early detection and cancer interception. He has been a leader in numerous programmatic efforts in pancreatic cancer, funded through both the NCI and foundations such as Stand-Up-To-Cancer/AACR.