Sonia Kupfer is a physician-scientist with research and clinical interests in gastrointestinal cancers and health disparities. She graduated from Yale University and completed her medical training including Chief Residency and Gastroenterology fellowship at the University of Chicago. She is Professor, Associate Vice Chair for Research, and Director of the Center for Clinical Genetics and Genomics in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago. In 2022, Dr. Kupfer was appointed as Director of the Physician-Scientist Development Program in the Department of Medicine, and, in 2024, was selected as Director of the new Community of Academic Physician-Scientists (CAPS) by the Dean of the Biological Sciences Division. Dr. Kupfer is Past-President of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer (CGA-IGC) and a current council member of the International Society for Inherited Gastrointestinal Tumors (InSiGHT). She serves on several committees including as Vice-Chair for GI Oncology for the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and is an Associate Editor for the journal Gastroenterology. Dr. Kupfer has received the Division of Biological Sciences Diversity and Inclusion Junior award, the Joseph B. Kirsner Mentorship Award, the AGA Young Investigator Award, and, in 2024, the CGA-IGC Albert de la Chapelle Distinguished Mentorship Award.

The broad objective of Dr. Kupfer’s research is to understand the genomic, environmental and systemic factors that contribute to gastrointestinal cancer risk and health disparities. Her clinical research leverages large patient registries and multi-institutional collaborations to study cancer risks and systemic barriers to equitable care. Her translational research applies innovative experimental approaches using organoids to characterize inter-individual and ancestry-related responses to environmental factors relevant for carcinogenesis that informs precision cancer prevention. Her research has been published in high-impact journals and is supported by federal and private funding.