Donna E. Hansel, MD, PhD

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas

Donna E. Hansel, MD, PhD, is currently the Division Head of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Hansel’s lab focuses on identifying high-yield, targetable pathways in advanced bladder cancer, with a strong emphasis on mTOR signaling and novel downstream targets that are involved in cell motility and invasion.

Dr. Hansel earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She subsequently completed the MD-PhD Medical Scientist Training Program, a residency in Pathology, and a fellowship in Urologic Pathology at Johns Hopkins University. 

Dr. Hansel has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, edited or authored five textbooks on urologic pathology and biospecimen repositories, and participated in more than 100 national or international talks on bladder cancer. She has participated in the kidney-urinary tract panel for the 8th Edition Cancer Staging Manual of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and contributed to the 5th edition of the WHO Classification of Tumours of the Urinary System and Male Genital Organs. In addition, Dr. Hansel is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Advances in Anatomic Pathology, American Journal of Pathology, Histopathology, and Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine where she serves as Deputy Executive Editor. She has mentored over 40 residents, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows while remaining active in clinical science and overseeing a research laboratory focused on invasive cancer mechanisms.