Samuel L. Volchenboum, MD, PhD, MS

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Director, Informatics Program

Samuel L. Volchenboum, MD, PhD, MS, is an expert in pediatric cancers and blood disorders. He has a special interest in treating children with neuroblastoma, a tumor of the sympathetic nervous system.

In addition to caring for patients, Dr. Volchenboum is studying neuroblastoma in the laboratory, using sophisticated tools to measure the amounts of proteins found in these tumors. He is also pursuing several research projects in biomedical informatics, a field that harnesses tools from the world of computer science to solve complex problems in biology. Dr. Volchenboum has applied informatics techniques to study the genetics of both pediatric and adult cancers, and serves as director of informatics for the Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

In 2009, Dr. Volchenboum was named a St. Baldrick's Foundation Scholar. St. Baldrick's awarded him $330,000 in support of his research into using real-time proteomics to distinguish types of neuroblastoma. While current tests can take weeks, it's hoped that a real-time diagnosis is possible, which could lead to faster, more tailored treatment for each child. St. Baldrick's is an organization that raises funds for pediatric cancer research and encourages volunteers and award recipients to shave their heads in solidarity with children who have lost their hair to chemotherapy. Dr. Volchenboum accepted the head-shaving challenge in the fall of 2009.

Practice Locations

Center for Advanced Medicine
5758 S. Maryland Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637

Comer Children's Hospital at the University of Chicago
5721 S. Maryland Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637

Year Started Practice

1998

Board Certifications

Pediatrics
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Medical School

Mayo Medical School, Rochester, Minnesota

Residency

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Fellowship

Children's Hospital, Boston (Harvard Medical School)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston

Master's Degree

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston
(Biomedical Informatics)

Memberships

American Medical Informatics Association
American Society of Clinical Oncology
American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Children's Oncology Group
The International Society for Computational Biology

Language Spoken

English

Email

svolchen@peds.bsd.uchicago.edu

Office Phone

(773) 702-4303

Office Fax

(773) 834-1329

Office Postal Address

Samuel L. Volchenboum, MD, PhD, MS
University of Chicago Medical Center
5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC 4060
Chicago, IL 60637

Clinical Interests

• Pediatric oncology
• Pediatric hematology
• Neuroblastoma
• Stem cell transplantation

Request an appointment online
or call HealthLink at
1-888-UCH-0200

Learn More About Dr. Volchenboum

Dr. Volchenboum is featured in a patient story about a young woman who is the first neuroblastoma patient to participate in a clinical trial of a drug targeted at a mutation linked to some cases of the disease.

Read Dr. Volchenboum's account of his experience caring for one young girl with high-risk neuroblastoma, and the role experimental treatments played in saving the girl's life.

Read about Dr. Volchenboum's neuroblastoma research and see photos from the St. Baldrick's event when he had his head shaved for science.

Selected Publications

View a partial list of Dr. Volchenboum's publications through the National Library of Medicine's PubMed online database.